Case shows why clear role expectations matter when staff say they’re overwhelmed
A woman who worked as practice manager and receptionist at podiatry clinic from 17 August 2020 until 5 December 2025 resigned with four weeks' notice on 7 November 2025, then filed a general protections claim. On 10 March 2026, Commissioner McKinnon dismissed the application, finding the resignation was not forced.
The practice manager argued that adverse action by her employer, including unreasonable workload, pressure during sick leave, and retaliation after complaints, left her no real choice. She also alleged coercion and cited a report to SafeWork NSW about psychosocial hazards.
Between 19 August 2025 and 23 October 2025, the practice manager took 90.6 hours of leave, which the employer calculated as 35% of her contracted hours. She was managing her children changing schools, a day medical procedure, and the purchase of a business. She offered to buy on 5 November 2025, the same day she obtained a medical certificate for being unfit for work.
When the practice manager told director Rory Chapman in late October 2025 she felt overwhelmed, the business responded. Chapman told her she only needed to come to "the bay" once each month, giving her more time at home to answer phones, catch up on work, and be closer to her children's school. A second director, Piers Graham, checked in and suggested they discuss her hours. The employer had also provided additional leave, rostering adjustments, increased other staff hours, accommodated her children at the workplace, and made a company vehicle available to her for personal use after a car crash.
The Commissioner found a key source of stress was a misunderstanding about phone duties. The practice manager believed she was expected to answer all calls across the business to the exclusion of other staff. That was not what she had been asked to do, and as Practice Manager it was within her remit to delegate to other receptionists.
On 6 November 2025, the practice manager discovered her work phone extension had been disconnected. The next day, the clinic sent one email asking for help with "some essential business actions" to "ensure the smooth operation of the business": assigning CCTV camera access to a director (she had sole access) and ensuring both directors had access to all third-party billing sites along with any passwords or codes. The email explained the disconnection as a cost-saving measure. Two hours later, she found the CCTV camera had been removed by Mr Chapman. At 4.19pm, she resigned and filed a psychosocial hazard report with SafeWork NSW.
"It is hyperbole to describe these actions as repeated and demanding," the Commissioner wrote. "A single request was made for the information and when there was a follow up, it was only because one of the passwords provided was incorrect."
The SafeWork report prompted an Improvement Notice, but only regarding consultation. SafeWork NSW was otherwise satisfied the business had adequate systems in place to identify and manage psychosocial hazards. The podiatry clinic did not learn of the report until 14 November 2025, so it could not have driven retaliation.
The Commissioner observed that a legal reference in the application "appears to have come from an artificial intelligence tool and does not make sense in context."
The practice manager "had a lot going on at the time of her resignation, with a busy job as Practice Manager and in her personal life, including with the purchase of a new business," the Commissioner found. The compounding effect was likely unsustainable, but the evidence did not establish employer conduct intended or with the effect of bringing the employment to an end.
This case reinforces that documented supportive adjustments, clear role communication, and genuine check-ins matter when a resignation is reframed as forced. Reasonable, operationally necessary contact during sick leave is not adverse action. And where personal and professional stressors converge, employers are not expected to bear responsibility for circumstances beyond their control.
