Amy was promoted to Restaurant Manager in June 2022 having been employed as a waitress at K9K for five years. Amy is finding her new role as Restaurant Manager much harder than she thought it would be. Although the new waiting staff are enthusiastic, most of them (especially Sandra) dont know what theyre doing and shes spending every shift teaching them how to do the most basic things or having to do the work for them. Matteo, the Executive Chef, yells at her every time the waiting staff make a mistake with an order, often in front of the other chefs. To top it all off, in the middle of Amys shift, her toddlers childcare phones to say her daughter is sick again and someone needs to collect her. Amy calls Jonah, the owner, to tell him she has to take leave from work for the rest of the day to care for her daughter, and she leaves.

The next day, before the restaurant opens, Jonah takes Amy aside and explains that without her, things were a disaster. The new waiting staff were terrible. So many orders were mixed up, none of them knew how to operate the coffee machine, and the tables werent cleaned fast enough. Jonah tells Amy if she ever leaves the restaurant like that again in the middle of a shift, she can consider herself fired.

Once the restaurant is closed, Matteo marches out of the kitchen, shouting at Amy about all of the mistakes the waiting staff have made that day. Amy, close to tears, slams down the plate shes holding onto a table and it shatters. She swears at Matteo and runs out of the restaurant and doesnt return that day. Later that evening, Jonah calls Amy and tells her that due to her appalling behaviour that day, he no longer wants her working for K9K.

You embarrassed yourself and our brand. Youre not fit to manage staff if thats the way you carry on. You cant even hire competent staff! Jonah says he will make sure Amy receives four weeks pay but she is not to return to the restaurant again.

Can Amy take action under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) to challenge Jonahs treatment of her and/or the termination of her employment?