Yahoo Finance Woman wins $3k after being fired for taking sick days
A casual florist has been awarded nearly $3,000 for unfair dismissal after she was sacked for missing three shifts.
The Adelaide woman took her boss of two years, Tony’s Flowers, to Fair Work after they sent an email firing her, looping in two other employees.
Her boss claimed she was let go because it was the end of a busy period after Mother’s Day, and she was no longer needed.
Also read: Woman wins $2.8 million for being ‘micromanaged’ at work
Also read: Burnout: The new workplace pandemic and how to overcome it
Also read: 7 money tips that changed 7 lives
“Good morning. As the event season is now coming to an end, please be advised your position with Tony’s Flowers has now ended,” her boss said in the email.
“We would like to thank you for all of your hard work during this period. Your details will be kept on file for future events.”
But the woman disputed this, claiming she was unfairly dismissed because she had recently called in sick for three shifts and that she was not a seasonal worker.
According to a judgment published by the Fair Work Commission, the woman took two days off because of sickness.
She took another day off because she had experienced a home invasion but she chose not to disclose this to her boss and, instead, told him she was sick.
Text messages given to Fair Work showed her telling her boss she couldn’t work but was eager to make up the shifts.
“I’ve been vomiting for the last two hours Tristan so I won’t be in today, but I will update you tomorrow how I am,” she wrote in the first message.
“Tristan I’m actually still sick this morning. I felt really lethargic getting dressed and I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to start driving,” she said in a second message.
After she called in sick a third time, her boss said he would take her off the roster so she could focus on her recovery.
The next day, she was fired.
Firing ‘unreasonable’
Fair Work found her termination “unreasonable” and said looping in the other employees was improper.
“Dismissal by a common email without any prior discussion was not appropriate and also involved the applicant’s (and the other two employees’) dismissal, improperly, being disclosed to others,” it said.
The woman was awarded $2,890 plus superannuation.
Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free Fully Briefed daily newsletter.
