Death certificates don't appear overnight, but this employer kept demanding them
An employee fired 20 days after her grandmother's death has won her unfair dismissal case after her employer's documentation demands during grief went too far.
Bianca Knott worked as a part-time supervisor and administrator at Tru Ninja Pty Ltd, an indoor obstacle course in Penrith, New South Wales, for almost 14 months without incident. Then on September 19, 2025, her grandmother passed away unexpectedly.
Knott notified her manager via text that she would be unable to work September 19-20, 2025, and would provide an update on September 22. When she informed the company she needed the rest of the week off for bereavement and personal leave, her employer immediately requested documentation to support her leave application.
The problem was simple: it was too soon after the death to obtain the requested documents. Knott explained this during a phone call with her manager.
What happened next escalated the situation quickly. On September 23, 2025, Knott's mother called the operations manager to explain that it was too early to provide the evidence being demanded. The employer sent another email requesting a death certificate, funeral notice, or statutory declaration. By September 24, general manager and co-owner Tania Romero had joined the exchange, emailing Knott about her bereavement leave entitlements and requesting evidence by September 28.
Knott's mother called Romero. The conversation focused on the same issue: the documents didn't exist yet, but would be provided when available. Could the bereavement leave be paid in the meantime? The answer was no. Knott's cousin also sent an email on September 24 explaining the trauma Knott had experienced and noting that no documents were available yet to satisfy the requests.
The demands for additional evidence continued. On September 25, director Evan Wardrope took over, repeating the request for evidence and proposing that annual leave be used instead. Knott provided a medical certificate and a police event number as interim evidence. Wardrope responded on September 26 requesting additional verification of the police event number itself.
By October 9, 2025, Knott attended what she believed was a check-in meeting. Instead, she was dismissed for serious misconduct. The termination letter listed four reasons, including providing personal contact details of senior managers to a third party "which resulted in threatening and abusive calls to them" and behaviour that caused significant distress to management staff, "including Tania, who is heavily pregnant."
The third parties were Knott's mother and cousin. The calls were their attempts to advocate for bereavement leave while Knott grieved.
Deputy President Slevin heard the case on January 29, 2026, and issued the decision on February 3, 2026. The Fair Work Commission found the dismissal unfair, stating that "seeking proof of death in the days after the passing of Ms Knott's grandmother was an unreasonable request."
The decision noted that the communications from Knott's mother were firm but not misconduct. "They may well have been abrupt and firm, but I would not consider them to be rude or abusive," the Commission found. More significantly, the Commission found there was no valid reason for dismissal.
The employer's lack of HR expertise showed throughout the process. The relatively small size of the business and the apparent absence of human resources advisers had a negative impact on how the dismissal was handled, the Commission noted. The director acknowledged having access to the Workplace Ombudsman small business hotline for leave questions but didn't consult it before making the dismissal decision.
The Commission also found that the process of issuing a warning on October 8, providing a final warning at the disciplinary meeting on October 9, and then dismissing Knott on the same day did not give her an opportunity to respond.
Tru Ninja was ordered to pay Knott 12 weeks' compensation totaling $7,596 plus superannuation of $911.52.
The case demonstrates the importance of reasonable timeframes when requesting bereavement documentation and recognizing that family members may need to step in when employees face crisis situations. The rushed disciplinary process also highlights how quickly procedural missteps can compound into costly outcomes.
