The weeks after the assignment ended decided everything
A casual worker who believed his employment ended when his assignment ended has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission he was ever dismissed.
In a decision handed down on 20 April 2026, Deputy President Dean of the Fair Work Commission dismissed the application of Ms Jamie O'Neill-Hutchin against Hays Specialist Recruitment (Australia) Pty Limited, finding no dismissal had occurred under the Fair Work Act 2009.
The case posed a question familiar to anyone managing a contingent workforce: when a casual assignment ends, does that automatically mean the worker has been dismissed?
Ms O'Neill-Hutchin had been engaged as a casual Parking Officer at a local Council through Hays, commencing mid-December 2025. On 7 January 2026, the Council told Hays it wished to end the assignment. Ms McGovern, Hays' Section Manager and O'Neill-Hutchin's main point of contact, called him that same day to advise him.
O'Neill-Hutchin interpreted the call as a termination of his employment. He told the Commission he did not receive ongoing shifts or income after that point, though he acknowledged he had in fact accepted further work. He lodged a general protections application under the Fair Work Act, claiming he had been dismissed.
Hays disputed this, raising a jurisdictional objection on the ground that O'Neill-Hutchin had not been dismissed within the meaning of s.386 of the Act. This was the sole threshold question before the Commission...
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