A Dundee mum has been awarded over £10,000 after an employment tribunal ruled she was sacked “for being disabled”.
Wiolletta Ciesielska won an unfair dismissal claim against her former salon, Bertie’s Barbers.
The mum-of-one broke her shoulder in 2021 but returned to work in January 2022.
A tribunal heard that from January to August 2022 Miss Ciesielska was able to work as a barber but her shoulder caused her considerable pain.
She took painkillers daily but on occasions the pain was so great she was unable to work. She also needed time off for hospital appointments.
It was said the owner of the barber, which has premises in Stobswell and Broughty Ferry, mostly accommodated the time off.
But things came to a head during a heated telephone conversation between Ms Ciesielska and company director Lyndsey Bertie, leading to Ms Ciesielska’s employment ending.
Employment Tribunals Scotland have now found in Ms Ciesielska’s favour, ordering the company to pay her £10,727.67 for “injury to feelings” through disability discrimination.
A summary of the tribunal said the owners denied disability was the reason for dismissal, but did not provide an alternative justification.
Bertie’s Barbers employee was dismissed ‘for being disabled’
It continued: “The claimant was dismissed because she was disabled.
“It is clear that the claimant was dismissed as a result of the fact that she required time off before and after her surgery. This arose as a result of her disability.
“No justification defence has been pled or argued – the respondent simply argued that the claimant’s absence was not the reason for her dismissal.
“The reasons for dismissal asserted by the respondent are not credible and should be rejected.”
The judgement states that during the heated phone conversation Ms Bertie said to her employee that “she was ‘f****** pi**** off’ with the claimant going off sick and would be
paying her off from the following day.”
When Ms Ciesielska said she had a doctor’s note Ms Bertie stated she did not want it, as the claimant’s employment was not continuing.
‘All I wanted to do was stand up for myself’
Following the judgement Ms Ciesielska said: “I am delighted that the case is now over.
“All I ever wanted was to stand up for myself and show my employer they cannot treat people the way I was treated.
“I am happy with the outcome and I am now looking forward to moving on with my life.”
Ryan Russell of MML Law, who represented Ms Ciesielska, said: “Our client was a single mother struggling to make ends meet when she was discriminated against and lost her job.
“Our client was struggling physically with her disability, then sacked from her role which made her mentally unwell and placed in extreme financial difficulty.
“We hope her vindication is the start of a new chapter for her and her daughter.”
Nobody from Bertie’s Barbers responded to a request for comment.
