Case

Naden v Catholic Schools Broken Bay Limited (2025)

A person employed as a Religious Education Coordinator sought to return from parental leave on a part-time basis to assist with balancing her work commitments with her parental responsibilities, and to accommodate the childcare arrangements she had organised. The employer stated that it preferred not to have a teacher with executive responsibilities working part-time. It indicated it would only agree to the request for part-time hours if the employee returned to work as a classroom teacher rather than in her executive role, at least until she returned to full-time work. The employee did not accept the alternative arrangement.

The discussions between employer and employee went on for many months, and at no time had the employer provided a written response to the request, as was required under the National Employment Standards (NES).