A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission is a timely reminder that employers must carefully consider redeployment options during restructures, including part-time alternatives proposed by employees.

In Mr Marcus Watzlaff v Secure Parking Pty Ltd [2026] FWC 1408, Secure Parking made its full-time Compliance Manager role redundant as part of a cost-cutting restructure. The company redistributed the compliance duties to its Chief Legal and Risk Officer.

The employee argued that, although the full-time role may no longer be required, he could continue performing the compliance duties on a part-time basis. During consultation, he proposed:

• transitioning to part-time work; and
• taking on additional governance and risk-related functions.

Deputy President Slevin accepted that the employer no longer required the full-time role to be performed. However, that did not end the inquiry.

Under section 389 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), a redundancy will only be genuine if it would not have been reasonable to redeploy the employee within the business or an associated entity.

The Commission found that:

• the compliance work still needed to be performed;
• the employee was qualified to continue performing it;
• the proposal to work part-time was “sensible”; and
• the employer failed to properly explain why the proposal was not viable.

Importantly, the Commission noted that Secure Parking was a large employer with HR expertise and was therefore “well equipped” to carefully consider redeployment obligations.

The Commission ultimately found that it would have been reasonable to redeploy the employee into a part-time role and therefore the dismissal was not a case of genuine redundancy. The Commission further found that Secure Parking’s failure to properly consider redeployment options contributed to the dismissal being found harsh, unjust and unreasonable.

Deputy President Slevin also expressed a provisional view that reinstatement into a part-time role on a pro rata basis may be the appropriate remedy.

Practical Guidance for Employers

This decision highlights that employers should:

• genuinely consider employee proposals during consultation;
• assess part-time or modified roles as possible redeployment options;
• document why redeployment proposals are not operationally or financially viable; and
• avoid treating redundancy as complete simply because a full-time position disappears.

The case also reinforces that redeployment obligations may extend beyond existing vacancies and can include restructuring work arrangements where reasonable.

If you would like to discuss this or other workplace issues, please contact Andrew Bland or call 02 9412 3077.