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Lateral move for overwhelmed supervisor repudiated employment contract

Temporarily moving a supervisor to a different role after she reported feeling overwhelmed repudiated her employment contract and resulted in a constructive dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

The evidence led to the "inescapable" conclusion that the employer had unilaterally transferred the supervisor and gave her an ultimatum to either accept the change or leave, Commissioner Trevor Clarke found.

The Ihealth Pharmacy dispensary team lead resigned in June this year, stating her decision was the result of "duress, coercion and unfair pressure".

The employer objected to her subsequent unfair dismissal claim on the basis her resignation was "entirely voluntary". But the supervisor said her hand was forced due to, among other things: the employer's response to an injury she sustained in May; her "excessive" workload; and her "demotion".

She claimed that when she returned from leave after injuring her shoulder outside of work, the employer effectively ignored her, expected her to perform duties as normal, and failed to implement a return-to-work plan...

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