Employee started working during pandemic, but contract allowed for work locations other than home
The Fair Work Commission recently held that an Australian employer validly dismissed a worker who refused to comply with its hybrid working policy, finding that the employee wrongly believed his right to work from home was “unconditional.” The decision serves as a clear reminder that working from home is not an unfettered entitlement held by employees. Employers can direct employees to work from the office in line with the terms of written employment contracts and/or lawful and reasonable directions.
In Johnson v. PaperCut Software Pty Ltd [2026] FWC 178 (PaperCut), the employer dismissed Mr Johnson after he repeatedly refused to comply with a direction to attend the office three days a week. Johnson commenced working at PaperCut in April 2022, towards the tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, PaperCut allowed employees to work from home and required only intermittent attendance at the office.
Under Johnson’s written employment contract, he was initially “permitted to work from [his] personal residence… in line with relevant PaperCut policy” but could be “required to work at other locations from time to time.”
After the Victorian Government encouraged a return to the office post-COVID lockdowns, PaperCut undertook hybrid work trials to assess how its employees were working. The company consequently developed and implemented a return-to-hybrid-work policy. Johnson...
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