A former Netflix marketing manager has alleged she was illegally made redundant by the company after seeking 12 months of maternity leave.

Vanessa Hughes lodged a breach of general protections dispute in the Federal Court against her employer Netflix Australia earlier this year. 

She is seeking $210,000 according to new documents lodged with the court, per The Australian.

Hughes “says the streaming giant owes her up to a full year of pay worth $210,000, after claiming in fresh court documents she was illegally sacked in September, allegedly on the grounds of redundancy, with just four weeks’ pay in lieu of notice”.

The paper says Hughes, 37, was “allegedly repeatedly urged [by her boss Tony Broderick] not to take 12 months of parental leave despite her informing him of a medical condition”.

Vanessa Hughes’ LinkedIn.

“On 4 May 2023, during a regular weekly meeting between Mrs Hughes and Mr Broderick, Mrs Hughes disclosed that she had a medical condition and requested 12 months of parental leave pursuant to the (Netflix) Parental Leave Policy,” her pleadings alleged.

The documents allege Broderick told Hughes “the recommended parental leave was seven to nine months due to Japanese laws”.

“Mr Broderick told Mrs Hughes that Netflix’s Parental Leave Policy was very generous so there was no reason she should ask for more than seven to nine months,” she alleged.

The Australian reported that “Hughes claimed in court documents she shared details about her medical condition with Mr Broderick, including that her pregnancy was high-risk. [But] Mr Broderick told Mrs Hughes that she should be planning for ten months with an option to extend”.

“Mr Broderick … told Mrs Hughes she was catastrophising her situation,” the documents allege.

Hughes claims she was ultimately made redundant in a restructure undertaken while she was on maternity leave.