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The "commensurate" positions an employer offered its workers because their roles were no longer required were in fact demotions that repudiated their employment contracts, the Fair Work Commission has found.

Deputy President Nicholas Lake noted the employer didn't seek to defend the employees' unfair dismissal claims on "genuine redundancy" grounds. Rather, it claimed no dismissals occurred because the employees resigned when they refused to accept its redeployment offers.

Car sales company Madill No.1 informed the employees in October last year that their roadside technician roles would not be required from 9 December, as its contract with RACQ Roadside Assistance had not been renewed.

About two weeks later, the employer's HR manager emailed the employees to organise consultation meetings, saying that while their positions would become redundant, their employment wasn't ending...