The employer treated his email as a quit notice. The Commission saw it very differently

An employee's email stepping back from his role wasn't a resignation, the Fair Work Commission ruled - and treating it as one triggered a dismissal.

The decision, handed down on July 2, 2026, is a sharp reminder for employers: an ambiguous message is not a resignation, and acting on it as though it were can backfire.

The case involved Full Bore Drill & Blast Pty Ltd, a Western Australian drilling and blasting business, and its general manager operations, who started with the company in August 2024.

On March 4, 2026, the worker emailed the managing director. He raised concerns about tender timeframes, unclear authority, governance and safety risk, and said he was "withdrawing from the General Manager, MMS role, effective immediately." The role as it stood, he wrote, lacked "the authority or governance support required to be discharged responsibly." Crucially, the same email said he remained open to supporting the business "in a clearly defined and appropriately structured capacity if that can be agreed."

The employer treated the email as a resignation. It removed his system access the next day, and by letter dated March 6, 2026, confirmed his last day of employment was March 4.

The worker said that wasn't what he meant. He was stepping back from the general manager role, he said - not resigning - as a work health and safety step to limit his personal liability as an officer under the...

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