By OnNotice Australia
Publication Date: 2026-10-29 02:00:00
A former in-house lawyer at Cisco Systems Australia Pty Ltd will not have his constructive dismissal claim heard on appeal. On 28 October 2026 a Full Bench refused permission to appeal, finding that none of his 28 grounds disclosed an arguable error.
The worker had been Cisco’s Senior Corporate Counsel since 2015. His employment ended on 2 March 2025, when he sent an 11-page letter to Cisco’s Chief Legal Officer. In it he said he accepted that Cisco had repudiated his employment contract (conduct showing an employer no longer intends to be bound by it), that he regarded himself as constructively dismissed, and that this took effect immediately.
He then brought a general protections dismissal application under s.365 of the Fair Work Act 2009. In [2026] FWC 3205, handed down on 21 August 2026, Commissioner Lim found he had not been dismissed within the meaning of s.386, either by termination on the employer’s initiative under s.386(1)(a) or by forced resignation under…
