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Despite being described as "a most difficult and challenging employee for even the most patient of employers", a worker has won her adverse action claim, with the Federal Circuit Court finding her redundancy was orchestrated.

While the employer's reasons for restructuring were "at first glance commercially cogent and plausible", this didn't rule out there being another prohibited reason, Judge Jonathan Forbes said.

"Crudely, it is possible to kill two birds with the one stone, and when confronted with the need to improve the finances of [the employer] and settle the staff down, there was a pathway which served to meet those commercial objectives and simultaneously remove a thorn in the organisation's side."

In June 2017, Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre made the finance team leader's role redundant. She claimed this was unlawful adverse action, alleging she was really dismissed for making workplace complaints...