Woman fired for calling in sick on Monday wins payout of Rs 3.4 Lakh

The employee was fired after she did not show up for work on a Monday

A hairdresser who fired his employee for repeatedly calling in sick on Monday has been ordered to pay 3,453 pounds (Rs 3.44,204) in compensation, Metro reported. Celine Thorley, 25, who worked for Christian Donnelly’s Acute Barbers in the Cardiff University Students’ Union, was sacked after failing to show up for work on a Monday.

The incident happened in October 2021, when Mr Donnelly warned Ms Thorley at the end of her shift on a Friday saying, ‘Don’t let me down on Monday’, as she was hosting a Halloween party at home this weekend. However, on Monday she texted him saying she couldn’t get out of bed because she was “all shaking”.

The text read: “Hey Chris I know you are going to be mad at me but I can’t make it work sorry I really didn’t think I was going to be this bad I’m not well at all I was a messed up yesterday and i woke up this morning and i was sick straight away i really thought i was fine today…my stomach is killing me and i’m all shaking…i really can’t bed Chris. I’m so sorry!”

Believing she was faking illness, Mr Donnelly responded by saying he “didn’t have that” and fired her.

“After four years of phoning in sick on Mondays because you had a good weekend, I can do what I love, believe me,” he told her. When Ms Thorley warned she would be taking him to court, Mr Donnelly replied: ‘You’ve had all your warnings. Fuck with all that legal bullshit.’

Mr Donnelly told the court that in her first year she had more free time than her colleagues combined and that sick days almost always followed weekends. He added that she had 17 days off on Monday/Tuesday as well as 10 days off to recover from a burn.

In her defence, Ms Thorley said the number of absences was ‘not as bad’ as Mr Donnelly had suggested, and claimed to have endometriosis. The labor judge upheld Ms. Thorley’s complaint for unfair dismissal, admitting that the claimant suffered from a “physical impairment” resulting from menorrhagia (heavy periods). The judge then ordered Mr Donnelly to pay Ms Thorley a total of £3,453 because he had failed to follow ‘fair process’ in dismissing her.

Reacting to the order, Mr Donnelly said Wales online he stands by the decision because there was a “pattern” of Ms Thorley calling in sick on Monday. However, he acknowledged that he should have followed the correct process, including written warnings.