A forklift driver has pleaded ignorance of corporate policy after being fired for storing 400 megabytes of pornography on his work computer.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) ruled that using a work computer to download and distribute porn was a valid reason for dismissal, a report by The Age newspaper said.

Bassam Darwich, a former forklift driver with metal processing company Kaal Australia, told the AIRC he was never informed of Kaal's email policy and had never read warnings when he accessed email before he was fired last year.

The commission heard a "blokes are blokes" culture existed at Kaal and employees regularly distributed jokes, games, videos and pornographic material using the work computer system.