Barber sacked for 'phoning in sick on Mondays' wins £3,000 in compensation

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A barber who sacked a woman for repeatedly calling in sick on Mondays has been ordered to pay her over £3,000. The court found that Celine Thorley, from Cardiff, was genuinely ill and her boss had not followed a "fair process" when dismissing her.Christian Donnelly, the owner of Acute Barbers in the Cardiff University student union, had warned Ms Thorley not to "let him down" ahead of a weekend house party in October 2021.

However, she texted him on the Monday saying she couldn't get out of bed because her stomach was "killing" her. Mr Donnelly, 40, responded by sacking her after "four years of phoning in sick on Mondays because you'd had a good weekend".

An employment tribunal judge last year ordered Mr Donnelly to pay Ms Thorley a total of £3,453 after ruling she was genuinely ill with a heavy period, Wales Online reports.Mr Donnelly, who still runs Acute Barbers in Llandaff North, said he stands by his decision as there was a "pattern" of Ms Thorley calling in sick on Mondays.

He admitted he should have issued written warnings but felt the compensation amount was a "farce", adding: "I don't know how I'm going to come up with that."Ms Thorley, 26, joined the shop in 2018 with an annual salary of around £16,000.