How a missing leave form, a one-way ticket and a chat removal ended at Fair Work
A Sydney baker was dismissed by being quietly removed from a workplace WhatsApp group, and the Fair Work Commission ruled it was lawful.
On February 20, 2026, Commissioner McKinnon dismissed an unfair dismissal application brought by Bishwash Subedi against Crispy Bakehouse Co Pty Ltd, a Sydney bakery with 16 employees. It is a case that should give pause to any organisation where digital tools have quietly taken over how workplace communication gets done.
Subedi had been employed as Head Baker from October 14, 2024, earning $78,000 a year. His dismissal on August 2, 2025 came with no letter, no phone call, and no explanation. He found out when his access to the workplace WhatsApp roster group was revoked.
The events behind it started weeks earlier. On June 20, 2025, Subedi received a call from family in Nepal asking him to come home to help with a property sale. He booked a one-way ticket on Sunday June 22, 2025 for travel the following Tuesday, and the next day — Monday June 23, while at work — told Bijay, who handled rostering and leave approvals at the bakery, about his plans. Bijay told him "if it's an emergency, just go," but directed him to seek proper approval from the operations manager and the business owner.
Subedi filled out a leave application form requesting six weeks of annual leave, despite having only 27.85 hours accrued. He left it on a desk rather than pinning it to the notice board, which was the usual process. Operations manager Sheena Reid told him she could not approve the leave because she had no time to find cover. Her parting comment, "well you already have the ticket, what else can we do," was not an approval, the Commission later found.
He left for Nepal anyway. The bakery posted a job ad for a replacement baker the next day.
Subedi returned to Australia on July 10, 2025, and reached out to CBC the following week — contacting Ms Reid on July 17 and the business owner Mr Baloglow on July 18 — saying he was ready to return. A meeting was proposed for July 22, 2025 but was never confirmed by CBC, and neither party followed up. On August 2, 2025, his access to the WhatsApp roster group was revoked, and that was that.
The Commission found his absence, from June 24, 2025 to July 18, 2025, was unauthorised and gave the employer a valid reason to dismiss him. There were procedural gaps: no formal notice, no stated reason, no chance for Subedi to respond before the decision was made. These counted against the employer, but not enough to change the outcome. Commissioner McKinnon found the dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable, and dismissed the application.
The Commission also noted that CBC's lack of dedicated HR expertise contributed directly to those procedural gaps, a finding that carries weight well beyond this particular case.
What the ruling signals for people professionals is fairly clear. Leave approval processes need to be documented and followed consistently, including when an employee presents a personal emergency. Vague or sympathetic responses from line managers, however well-intentioned, can create genuine legal exposure for the organisation. And when a dismissal decision is eventually made, it needs to be delivered through a proper, documented process rather than a quiet removal from a group chat.
The Commission confirmed that being removed from a WhatsApp group can, in law, constitute a dismissal.
