A boss's December sacking call, held back until January, decided this general protections fight
An employer can defend a general protections case with barely a scrap of performance paperwork on file - if its evidence on why it acted stands up.
That was the practical takeaway from a Federal Court of Australia appeal decided on July 30, 2026, brought by a workplace health and safety compliance manager who said she was dismissed for exercising her workplace rights. The court dismissed her appeal and left the earlier ruling in the employer's favour undisturbed.
The employee worked for a New South Wales road surfacing company, Roadworx Surfacing, as its WHS and quality compliance manager. In the days before her dismissal she raised safety concerns, dealt with a SafeWork NSW inspection, took paid personal leave and signalled that she might lodge a workers compensation claim. She was dismissed on January 16, 2025, with four weeks' pay in lieu of notice. Five days later, on January 21, the company terminated her employment again - this time without notice, on the ground of alleged misconduct, after it formed the view that a laptop she returned had been deliberately damaged.
She brought a claim under section 340 of the Fair Work Act, which prohibits an employer from taking adverse action, including dismissal, against a worker because they have exercised or proposed to exercise a workplace right. Lodging a workers compensation claim and taking paid personal or carer's leave both...
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