A former Serco worker's general protections dismissal claim has been denied, after the Fair Work Commission scrutinised her mental health and dismissal story.
On 17 March 2026, the Fair Work Commission dismissed an application by Zeina Habib, a former employee of Serco Citizen Services Pty Ltd, who alleged she was unlawfully dismissed because of her disabilities and denied procedural fairness.
Habib was dismissed on 17 July 2025. She brought a claim under the Fair Work Act arguing Serco had no valid reason to end her employment and that she had been discriminated against because of complex post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. She also argued she was not given a fair process before her termination.
Serco told the Commission that the "substantive and operative reason" for ending her employment was medical incapacity and her inability to perform the inherent requirements of her role.
The Commission did not rule on whether the dismissal was justified. Instead, it focused on whether Habib could proceed with her case at all, given the strict 21-day filing deadline. Habib lodged her application on 16 November 2025, more than three months after her dismissal. For the matter to continue, Commissioner Connolly had to be satisfied there were "exceptional circumstances" explaining the delay.
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