[2025] FWC 3683
Citation: [2025] FWC 3683
What happened
Robert John Wilson (the Applicant) worked as a Parking Patrol Officer for Care Park Pty Ltd (the Respondent) from January 2024, earning $902.88 weekly and covered by the Car Parking Award 2020. He was injured at work in November 2024 and subsequently received workers compensation. Following a dispute over workers compensation liability and a TASCAT order, the Applicant received an email on June 5, 2025, stating his employment was terminated due to his extended absence and inability to perform duties. He claims he didn't receive communication from Care Park between March and June 2025. The Applicant is seeking an unfair dismissal remedy.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission found that Mr Wilson was unfairly dismissed. The Commission determined the Respondent had a valid reason for dismissal but failed to provide procedural fairness and the termination was harsh, unjust, unreasonable. Reinstatement was deemed inappropriate, and compensation was ordered. The Applicant had filed his application within the required timeframe and was a protected employee. The dismissal was not a genuine redundancy.
What it means for employers
Employers must ensure they maintain open communication with employees, especially during periods of absence and workers' compensation claims. Failing to communicate and providing written notification of termination after a period of silence can be seen as a lack of procedural fairness, even if a valid reason for dismissal exists.
What it means for employees
Employees should keep records of communication with their employer and seek clarification if they are unsure about their employment status, particularly after workers' compensation claims or periods of absence. Employees should also check junk email folders for important communications from their employer.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2025fwc3683.pdfWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The full dataset, with structured fields for awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts, is available through the Business API. FairWork Mate AI answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. API + AI access is a paid product. Contact us for pricing or a 50% off first month.
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted by AI from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →