A pregnant woman was left stunned when her boss fired her after she announced she was expecting a child, receiving the shocking news by text message.
Amy from Melbourne had been working for a tech company for just four months when she experienced the abrupt sacking on February 6.
The 29-year-old was about to go to work one morning and noticed a text pop up on her phone after she got in her car.
To her horror she was notified by her employer she no longer had a job ‘due to excessive sick leave’.
The UK native, who fell pregnant in November, uploaded a video to TikTok recently to reveal the brutal text message from her boss.
‘Good morning Amy, not sure if you’re working today we’ve decided to cease your employment due to excessive sick leave as you’re still in your probation period,’ the text read.
Amy (pictured), 29, was about to go to work one morning and noticed a text pop up on her phone after she got in her car. To her horror she was notified by her employer she no longer had a job ‘due to excessive sick leave’
‘Please return your work items, monitors, laptops etc.’
Amy’s boss said a formal letter would be sent telling her she had been sacked.
She said in the Tiktok video that she had sent an email to her boss with a medical certificate the day before, explaining she was ‘suffering from pregnancy-related illness’ and could not come into work.
She was fired the next day.
Amy told Daily Mail Australia she received the news at 7.47am just as she was about to head into work to start her shift at 9am.
‘There’s no HR department there, no one to to tell and my boss was away until Christmas,’ she said.
‘I don’t know who I was supposed to tell.
Amy, who was still on her probation period with the company, said she was left in disbelief at the way she was terminated.
‘Even if you fire someone for taking sick leave, it’s a big no no, you can’t do that.
Amy (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia that she was left in disbelief by the way her boss had informed her she had been fired
The 29-year-old UK native received the text message (pictured) from her boss just before she was due to start her shift at 9am
Amy said she is unsure whether she wants to take her matter to court.
‘I think it’s important for other women to know that they do have rights,’ she said.
‘We are in 2024 and employers can just go ahead and do whatever they want just because you’re pregnant or on probation or whatever they deem fit.
‘Employers should consult with HR or legal representatives before doing anything rash.’
Hundreds of users commented on Amy’s post and urged her to take her case to court.
‘Keep all evidence and take them for unfair dismissal,’ one user said.
‘Go to Fair Work [Commission]. I had this happen during my pregnancy last year and I won my court case,’ another wrote.
‘So sorry you have to deal with this while you’re unwell and preparing for a baby.’
Employees who are pregnant cannot be fired or discriminated against under the Fair Work Act in Australia.
Pregnant staff are entitled to take sick leave while they are at work if they experience a pregnancy-related illness or injury.
Workers can take up to six weeks in unpaid parental leave before the birth of their child.
A person still on a work probation period is entitled to leave and may also make an unfair dismissal claim like any other worker.
