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An employee repudiated his contract by withdrawing his services from a site, but it was his employer's subsequent actions that terminated the relationship, the Fair Work Commission has found, dismissing objections to his general protections claim.

The case highlights the distinction between repudiation and termination, with Deputy President Abbey Beaumont noting that "repudiatory conduct does not terminate the contract"; rather, it "gives the innocent party the right to elect to terminate the contract".

The worker was employed on a casual basis by labour hire company Mining Employment Services. Starting on 30 March this year, he worked a two-weeks-on, one-week-off roster as a fly-in fly-out loader/operator at a mining site managed by AIM Mining Corporation (the host employer).

On 30 May, the worker gave notice that he would not be attending work; he told a supervisor that after a serious incident with a colleague the previous day, he hadn't slept and was unfit for work due to fatigue. He also insisted on being transferred to a separate crew so he wouldn't have to work with the colleague...