A shop assistant was sacked by text message because her employer said it was part of the company’s “youth culture”.
Katy Tanner, 21, was off sick from work at the Blue Banana fashion chain with a severe migraine when she was axed.
She had been working at the shop in Cardiff for only eight weeks when her manager, Alex Bartlett, sent the message.
“We’ve reviewed your sales figures and they’re not up to the level we need,” he wrote. “As a result we will not require your services any more. Thank you for your time with us.”
The company defended the text sacking, saying: “We are a youth business and our staff are all part of the youth culture.”
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“We would rather have spoken in person to Miss Tanner but her telephone was switched off.”
But Tanner said: “I don’t think it’s right to just text someone. It’s very impersonal and not at all professional. You don’t expect that. You’re not allowed to text in sick – you have to phone. The fact that they texted me is a bit of a double standard.”
