Fair Work Commission Rules Worker Resigned After May 25 Sale Collapse

Q: Can your everyday actions legally count as a resignation even if you never actually quit?

Yes. In employment law, your conduct can amount to a resignation even if you never say or write “I quit.” That is what the Fair Work Commission found in this Western Australian case. The legal test was objective: not what the worker privately meant, but what a reasonable person would understand from her actions and communications. The Commission relied on emails and text messages showing she had accepted the buyer’s offer, stopped working before the sale completed, was preparing to relocate, and was acting as if she had already moved to the new employer. Because of that, the Commission held that her employment did not end at the old employer’s initiative. It ended through her own conduct. That meant she had not been “dismissed” under the Fair Work Act, so her general protections claim could not proceed. The ruling also shows the limit of “constructive dismissal” arguments. The Commission said she was not forced to resign. It found she could have waited until the business sale actually completed and until she had a signed contract from the buyer, but chose to act early. The practical lesson is clear in business sales and transfers: everyday steps such as stopping work, winding down duties, relocating, or telling others you are moving employers can carry legal weight. If the deal has not completed, acting too soon may later be treated as a resignation. Clear written confirmation, signed contracts, and waiting for completion are critical for both workers and employers.

1 articles · Updated · HRD America · Aug 15

An August 11 Fair Work Commission ruling said a Western Australian administrative employee was not dismissed after a business sale collapsed on May 25; her general protections claim was thrown out for lack of a dismissal.
May 28 emails, earlier messages about moving out of company housing, and evidence she planned to start with the buyer on May 27 led the Commission to find a reasonable employer could treat her conduct as a resignation.
The worker had finished duties on May 21 and was paid through May 24, even though completion of the asset sale was not due until June 1 and the buyer's job offers were conditional on staff resigning at completion.
The Commission also rejected constructive dismissal, finding she chose to act before the sale closed and before securing a signed contract, leaving the paper trail—not her private intent—to determine who ended the employment.