Barber who sacked employee for calling in sick ordered to pay her thousands

Christian Donnelly forced to pay ex-employee Celine Thorley more than £3,000 after dismissing her from Cardiff shop over ‘pattern’ of Monday absences

Mr Donnely said Ms Thorley had been a ‘damn decent barber’ with whom he had got on ‘pretty well’ prior to the dispute (Getty/iStock)

A barber has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 in compensation to an employee he fired for repeatedly calling in sick on Monday mornings.

Christian Donnelly, 39, dismissed Celine Thorley, 25, from her job at Acute Barbers in the Cardiff University student union after accusing her of feigning illness after weekends, according to WalesOnline.

Mr Donnelly had hired Ms Thorley in 2018 on an annual salary of around £16,000 and had told her “Don’t let me down on Monday” after her final shift of the week in late October 2021, knowing that she intended to attend a Halloween house party over the coming weekend.

But when the new working week began, his employee texted him to say she could not come in because her stomach was “killing” her.

The text read: “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’ve woke up this morning and was sick straight away. I really thought I was going to be okay today... my stomach is killing me and I’m all shaky... I really can’t get out of bed Chris. I’m soo sorry!”

Mr Donnelly, frustrated, responded by saying he was “not having this” and informed Ms Thorley she was sacked.

“After four years of phoning in sick on Mondays because you’d had a good weekend, I can do what I like, trust me,” he told her.

“I’ve kept that shop open just to keep you in a wage... Don’t come in and you’re gone.”

When she threatened to take him to an employment tribunal, he answered: “You’ve had all your warnings. Crack on with all that legal s***.”

The tribunal duly took place, at which Mr Donnelly alleged that Ms Thorley had taken more time off in her first year working with him than all of her colleagues combined and that her sick days almost always followed weekends.

He also claimed that she had had 17 days of Monday and/or Tuesday absences during her time working for him, as well as 10 days off recovering from a burn.

Ms Thorley denied that her absences were as frequent as he made out, claimed to suffer from endometriosis – a condition that can cause crippling pelvic pain – for which she was awaiting a formal diagnosis and said that her mother-in-law had been forced to take the day off work on the Monday in question because her pain was so severe.

The presiding judge, Roseanne Russell, upheld Ms Thorley’s complaint of unfair dismissal, accepting that the claimant suffered from a “physical impairment” as a result of menorrhagia – heavy periods – and ordering Mr Donnelly to pay £3,453 because he had not followed “fair process” in dismissing her.

Mr Donnelly, who has since closed the barber shop in question but continues to operate another branch under the same name in Llandaff North, told WalesOnline that Ms Thorley had been a “damn decent barber” who was popular with customers and with whom he had got on “pretty well” prior to the incident.

He said he felt “no bitterness” towards her and accepted that he should have issued written warnings in addition to the verbal cautions he had delivered before sacking her but felt the amount of money he was being asked to pay was a “farce”.

“I don’t know how I’m going to come up with that,” he added.

He said that he had been forced to work as a labourer during the pandemic in order to keep his business open and added: “I made so many sacrifices. Because of the rent and service charge I was having to put my wages from building work towards topping up her wages.

“I thought it would pay dividends because she’s a decent barber and I’d get the money back, but I’ve got to take it on the chin.”

Mr Donnelly added that he had had to sell his car for £700 in order to pay for legal advice ahead of the tribunal and had represented himself because he could not afford a solicitor, saying he was currently “living on credit cards”.

“Even if it was £500 I would have struggled to pay it,” he said of the compensation order.

“I was broke then and I’m even more broke now.”