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An "opportunistic" employer acted on the "incorrect premise" that an employee had abandoned his employment when it sacked him while he was on sick leave, the Fair Work Commission has found.

Commissioner Alana Matheson found the employer likely sent emails regarding the absence to a dormant email address, instead of the one he typically used, in the hopes that he wouldn't respond.

"This is because [the director] had likely formed a view that if the [employee] did not provide a response or another medical certificate the [employer] had a sound basis to dismiss him on the grounds of abandonment. It did not."

The case involved a hairdresser who had worked for Toni & Guy Sydney City since November 2022. He claimed unfair dismissal after he was sacked in September 2025...