Woolworths has axed eight employees in three states for performing the potentially dangerous stunt of 'planking' on top of the store's meat grinders, display shelves, trolleys and stacks of milk crates. The staff were sacked after colleagues reported the online activities to management. However, Woolworths has said the employees were fired for serious breaches of health and safety guidelines, and not specifically for planking. "It's nothing to do with planking, it's reckless and dangerous behaviour," Woolworths spokeswoman Claire Buchanan told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Other staff members who were also caught planking only received warnings because their behaviour wasn't considered as dangerous," she said. "What clearly started out as a bit of a joke on the internet has gone too far and it's costing people their jobs and, as we've also seen this week, their lives," Buchanan said. Earlier this week, 20-year-old Acton Beale from Brisbane tragically fell to his death while attempting to plank the seven-storey balcony of his apartment.

'Planking' has become an international online craze in recent weeks. It involves individuals having themselves photographed while lying face down across precarious objects like railway tracks, shelving units or balcony railings. The Woolworths sackings follow the suspension of six school students for planking in Queensland, with police and education officials warning the fad will not be tolerated. One of the nation's leading workplace law firms, Slater and Gordon, told The Daily Telegraph that planking alone should not be grounds for sacking and employees could potentially sue for unfair dismissal.

McDonald's has also reportedly told its staff that planking was considered inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.