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Abruptly ending an employee's informal flexible working arrangement caused her to suffer a psychological injury, and wasn't 'reasonable management action', a tribunal has ruled.

The employer was trying to ensure work was "shared amongst all staff", NSW Personal Injury Commission Senior Member Rachel Homan acknowledged, but she found it didn't take reasonable steps to understand why the employee's arrangement was in place prior to revoking it.

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice client services officer (CSO) filed a dispute with the Commission after her workers' compensation claim – for an adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood – was denied.

She argued, and the Commission accepted, that in October 2024 she'd received approval to start and finish early, and to work from home on Wednesdays. This arrangement enabled her to help with the care of her grandson, who had been diagnosed with a disability, and to attend her own medical appointments...