Fired because her children had gastro

When returning to work after two days of absence to take care of her children who had gastro, a Montreal hairdresser was told by her boss to look for work elsewhere, an “illegal” dismissal was ruled by the Administrative Labor Court.

“Being fired because our children are sick, that makes no sense,” says Lucile Bruni, a Montreal hairdresser of French origin, in an interview with The Journal. “I find that unacceptable, as a mother.”

In a decision rendered at the beginning of the month, the Administrative Labor Court concluded that it was indeed an illegal dismissal, and condemned the former boss of M^me Bruni, Georges Zahran, to compensate her.

This judgment marks the end of a story that began in August 2021, when the young mother was hired at the L'Organza salon, in Outremont.

Illegal dismissal

“At the time, my son was having health problems, and I had made it clear that I would need to be absent regularly, right from the interview. At the time of the exchange, the boss was very understanding,” says Lucile Bruni.

During the few months that she worked at the salon, the young woman took a few days off to stay at home with her children, before being fired towards the end of October, upon her return to work. after an absence of 48 hours.

“We don't have any family here, so when a child is sick, we don't have a grandma or grandpa to look after them. And then, it was the period of the pandemic, and the daycare required 24 hours to pass after the symptoms had disappeared so that the children could return,” adds the young woman.

What the law says

During the hearings, the ex-boss of M^me Bruni argued that the dismissal was motivated by other reasons, but the TAT ruled that these were not supported by “predominant evidence” and concluded that the dismissal was illegal due to the concomitant absence and judgment.

The Labor Standards Act stipulates that one can be absent from work for 10 days each year “to fulfill obligations related to the care, health or education of one’s child.” Please note that the first two of these days must be paid, as long as you have accumulated three months of continuous service.

Not quite finished

Joined by The JournalMr. Zahran has indicated that he intends to appeal the case, because he believes that he did not have the right to a fair hearing.

“My lawyer was disbarred [du Barreau] two weeks before the trial. I asked for it to be postponed so that I could find another lawyer, but I was refused,” he pleads, maintaining tooth and nail that he did not fire M.^me Browned because of his absences, but rather because he didn't trust him.

“I paid her $100 a day, so when she didn’t show up, that was my business!” he says, in a visibly indignant tone.