A Sydney mother-of-two has won a Fair Work dispute after she was forced back into her company’s CBD office, disrupting care for her special needs daughter.
Laura Kliffen, who works in admin and as a customer support officer for Real Estate Software company Reapit says she was pushed to return to the CBD office, after having worked remotely since 2017.
This came despite her warnings the commute of up to three hours a day from her Berowra Heights home would significantly impact her young family.
Ms Kliffen, according to the Fair Work Commission judgment, said she is responsible for getting her young child to daycare as well as getting her other child to school.
She said her daughter had been diagnosed with multiple conditions over the past year, meaning she requires additional support and considerations around school drop-offs.
The push for her to return to in-office work triggered anxiety and behaviour difficulties in her daughter, she added.
She also submitted that her role was largely administrative, but the company disputed this, arguing her role consisted of “more than the mere mechanics of answering phone calls and conducting live chats with customers”.
Reapit said the need for “team cohesion and training opportunities” was reason for Ms Kliffen to attend the office.
They also said the mother was “unwilling” to incur the cost, time or “personal inconvenience” of commuting to and from the Sydney office.
However, the commission ultimately ruled in her favour, given the fact her team of 11 was spread all across Australia and overseas, not just in the CBD office.
“While I accept that face-to-face interactions may have benefits, only a small number of the Applicant’s team members are actually based in Sydney,” the decision read.
The mother also argued that her children had been able to fit in around her working from home schedule and that she’d been able to perform her role in that context without impacts to productivity, quality or output.
The mother had previously met with her manager and was told she could work in the CBD office two days a week between 10am and 6pm, on days of her choosing.
However, she argued the some seven hours of travel a week would still negatively impact her family, and would call for various other arrangements and disruptions.
The change would significantly impact her mental health as well as the wellbeing of her family, she said.
“As mentioned, my daughter does require additional support from time to time and this change has had a significant impact on her levels of anxiety and an escalation of behaviours is not something that has happened in the past,” she said.
She also argued that she was performing well within the company, backed up by a June 2025 performance review.
However, the company claimed her performance had been “less than adequate” and that this could only be addressed by her attending the office at least one day per week in order to “break a vicious cycle” of isolation.
They also rejected the mother’s claims that her child’s behaviour had worsened due to her returning to office, and alleged she failed to back up any of these claims.
Mrs Kliffen did however point to Department of Education evidence which showed her eldest daughter had repeatedly attempted to leave school grounds, and that there was not one week between May and September 2024 in which her child did not attempt to leave at least once.
The company also said that Mrs Kliffen had managed to attend social events including lawn bowls, a Christmas party and a financial year kick-off.
Commissioner Alana Matheson, however, rejected the company’s case and agreed that Mrs Kliffen’s child’s special needs could create challenging behaviours which would likely impact her caring responsibilities.
Commissioner Matheson ordered that Mrs Kliffen be permitted to continue working from home subject to a requirement to attend the Sydney office once per fortnight on a day chosen by her.
She will also be permitted to commence work at a time no later than 10.30am on the office day.
If her later start time on the office day results in her working fewer than ordinary hours on that day, Mrs Matheson ordered that Mrs Kliffen is required to make up the time across the remainder of the fortnight.
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