Employers should also heed FWC’s concerns regarding ChatGPT-drafted documents

FWC (Hayley Lord v Millet Hospitality Geelong Pty Ltd [2025] FWC 2740) has criticised a small business for using an email drafted with ChatGPT, to inform a long-serving supervisor of her retrenchment, finding the approach failed to meet “basic standards of decency".

FWC rejected the employer’s claim that the email was poorly worded due to their limited English and reliance on ChatGPT. FWC found the redundancy was not genuine and that the employer failed to consult as required.

FWC stressed that small businesses must still adhere to minimum standards when ending employment. He said dismissing an employee via a “cursory” email—rather than a face-to-face discussion—was inappropriate, especially after nearly five years of service.

FWC awarded one week’s compensation of $1,162 plus $133.63 in superannuation.

Our Take

What is ‘good for the goose is also good for the gander!’. Employers can’t complain about the ever increasing burden of dealing with exaggerated ChatGPT ‘inspired complaints/claims’ and then do the same thing to their employees.

Tools like Chat GPT can give the appearance of making administrative tasks more efficient but as Simon Sinek says “If you don’t understand people you don’t understand business”. ChatGPT isn’t anywhere near that level yet and it still clearly doesn’t understand the mandatory obligations for genuine consultation for redundancy purposes.

Respect and relationships matter. A redundancy is about someone losing their job through no fault of their own. Employers need to stop treating a redundant employee the same way as you would treat an employee who had stolen from you.

In our experience redundancies that genuinely focus on ‘the how’ of redundancy vs the ‘what’ are more likely to avoid scrutiny from employees, unions and FWC. A little extra effort on the relationship front will save you a lot of challenges if the decision is later called into question.

Action Items

1. Review Redundancy Procedures - Confirm compliance with award consultation obligations before decisions are made.

2. Avoid “Cursory” Communication - Deliver redundancy discussions in person wherever possible. Follow up in writing for clarity.

3. Train Owners and Managers - Provide guidance on respectful communication and procedural fairness—even for small businesses.

4. Use AI Responsibly - The words matter. If using tools like ChatGPT, review and adapt outputs to ensure accuracy, tone, and compliance.

5. Document Consultation Steps - Keep records of discussions and options offered to employees to mitigate risk of claims.

Edge Legal

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