Woman awarded £24,000 after being fired on day off in ‘catch up’ work call

A woman has been awarded over £24,000 in compensation as a result of wrongful dismissal.

Joanne Neill - who had been struggling with her mental health - worked as a part-time employee at skincare company Dermalogica UK, and was told on a day off that she was getting the sack in an online call.

Following an employment tribunal, she was awarded a compensation after it found she suffered from part-time worker and sex discrimination.

It was also ruled that the facilities consultant shouldn't have been made redundant on one of her days off, which resulted in her mental health being 'significantly worsened' after already facing struggles.

Employment Judge Liz Ord stated: “The short notice period she was given of the meeting and the misleading title of the invite - ‘catch up’ - meant she was unprepared and blind-sided.

Neill was sacked on a Microsoft Teams call during her day off (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The announcement ... plunged her into a state of shock and despair, significantly setting back her state of mental health.

“Conducting the meeting via (Microsoft) Teams exacerbated the situation as it meant there was no support from colleagues and no opportunity to ask questions of HR.”

In total, Neill was awarded £24,042.08, as £23,331.51 with respect to injury and £710.57 with respect to a bonus payment for 2023.

The tribunal heard that Neill was having trouble with her mental health from January 2022, though she was still prohibited from working two days a week from home.

Neill would have emotional breakdowns in front of co-workers, for example, though she was made to keep working as she was only entitled two days of paid sick leave per year.

But in November 2022, the development consultant, whose LinkedIn says she had been at the company since 1995, was chosen to be made redundant, as her manager Ian White claimed it would help them reach a required reduction in head count.

Neill was invited to a 'catch up' meeting where she was let go (LinkedIn)

Neill was invited to a video call titled 'catch up' in her calendar, but what happened on the call blindsided her completely.

She joined the call on one of her non-working days, and was informed of their decision to select her as one of the employees being made redundant.

It was so set in stone in fact, that White would tell other members of the team that she'd lost her job.

But soon after, a different employee left the department which meant Neill stayed in her role at the company.

It was concluded at the tribunal that Dermalogica UK had discriminated against the employee by not giving context for the meeting, scheduling it as a video call when she was based in the office, while also not giving her the right to be accompanied during the meeting.

This meant that she couldn't pose any of the claims to HR.

The sacking of Neill based on her hours are also a breach of the part-time workers' regulations, with it also counting as sex discrimination as women are more likely to work part-time.

LADbible has reached out to Dermalogica UK for comment.