[2025] FWC 510
Citation: [2025] FWC 510
What happened
Laura Stien was employed as an office administrator by Hire A Hubby Pakenham (HAHP) from August 2022. She commenced parental leave in October 2023 and requested an extension of her leave in October 2024. HAHP’s owner, Ronald Peter Moore, claimed to have received the request in November 2024 and subsequently emailed Ms Stien on December 9, 2024, declining the extension and stating her role was redundant due to business downsizing. On December 11, 2024, Ms Stien was informed her employment was terminating, effective December 25, 2024, with no notice or payment in lieu. Ms Stien filed an unfair dismissal application on December 31, 2024.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission found Ms Stien was unfairly dismissed and not protected by the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code. The Commission rejected HAHP’s claim that the dismissal was due to a genuine redundancy, finding the business’s circumstances did not meet the legal definition. The Commission determined the termination took effect on December 11, 2024, meaning the application was filed within the 21-day timeframe. Compensation will be determined at a later date.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2025fwc510.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 →