According to Metro, a UK employment tribunal ruled that Celine Thorley, a 25-year-old Cardiff hairdresser, was unfairly fired by her boss for failing to follow a "fair process."
Christian Donnelly, owner of Acute Barbers, warned Thorley not to disappoint him on Monday after she finished her Friday shift at Cardiff University Students' Union.
This was because she was hosting a house party for Halloween over the weekend. The 25-year-old worker informed him via message on Monday that she was confined to bed due to severe stomach pain.
Donnelly responded by saying that he was firing her because she had "called in sick on Mondays for four years because you'd had a good weekend."
After the judge determined that Thorley was truly ill and experiencing period pain, the 39-year-old woman was ordered to pay her £3,453.
Due to Thorley's consistent pattern of calling in sick on Mondays, Donnelly stated that he agreed with his decision. He did, however, acknowledge that he should have followed the proper procedures, such as giving her a written warning rather than just dismissing her.
Thorley started working at the salon in 2018 for £16,000 per year and was referred to by her previous boss as a "damn decent barber."
Even though Donnelly acknowledged that they had a decent rapport, she told the tribunal that Thorley had taken more sick days in her first year than all of her coworkers combined, and that these absences were almost always on weekends. The 25-year-old worker was absent on 17 Mondays and Tuesdays in total.
In October 2021, Thorley sent her employer the following text message: "Hey Chris, I know you’re going to be mad at me, but I can’t make it to work sorry, I really didn't think I was going to be this bad I'm not well at all I was a mess yesterday and I woke up this morning and was sick immediately." Chris, I really can't get out of bed because my stomach is killing me and I'm shaking. I really thought I would be fine today. I am truly sorry!
"Don't come in and you're gone," was Donnelly's response.
Donnelly responded to Thorley's threat that she would take him to a tribunal, "You've had all your warnings." Get going with all that legal nonsense.
It was made clear during the hearing at the tribunal that Thorley's severe menstrual cramps prevented her from going to work. She told the judge that her mother-in-law had to take time off of her job to help her because she had endometriosis, a condition that can cause severe pelvic pain.
She was on a waiting list to see a gynecologist, despite the fact that she had not received a formal diagnosis for the condition. Thorley disputed Donnelly's claim that her absenteeism was as severe as he claimed, noting that she was unsure of the frequency with which she required time off for period-related issues, but suspected it might have been monthly or bimonthly.
Roseanne Russell, an employment judge, sided with Thorley because she found that her menorrhagia, or heavy periods, had left her with a physical impairment. The judge found that Donnelly had failed to issue formal warnings and upheld Thorley's claim of unfair dismissal. Judge Russell also said that Donnelly didn't follow a fair termination procedure on purpose, not by accident.
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