A boss has been slammed online over the 'sickening' note he sent to an employee who's been diagnosed stage four cancer.
From demanding their staff join Zoom calls while on holiday to firing an expectant mother suffering from a 'pregnancy-related illness', it sometimes feels like employers are in a contest to be named the 'worst boss ever'.
But, one boss' outrageous message to an employee who's going through stage four cancer treatment might just take the cake.
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In Reddit's 'Mildly Infuriating' thread, one user wrote: "My mom has stage four cancer in five areas and her boss has been pressuring her to come back to work."
Stage four is the most severe stage of cancer but it is not always terminal.
They also shared a screenshot of an email sent by their mom's boss.
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It reads: "Hi [redacted].
"Can you please get a letter from the oncologist to state if you are fit to come back to work.
"If you are fit, your oncologist must state if you are unable to [do] anything specific, you cannot do to ease you back into work.
"Your treatment plan going forward so we can plan accordingly as needed."
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The brutal email, which doesn't even ask how she is, continues: "Please send on your cert dated from March 20th ASAP.
"Please come in tomorrow at 2pm to meet with [redacted] and do a welfare meeting.
"Thanks [redacted]."
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In a follow up comment, the user explained that their mom had been diagnosed 18 months ago and that the boss has been aware of the severity of her illness for a long time.
And fellow Reddit users are rightfully furious, taking to the thread to condemn the message.
One person wrote: "Stage 4? I’d be telling the boss to kiss my a**."
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Another called the email 'sickening'.
A third commented: "How dehumanizing. I’m so sorry."
While someone else said the boss' behavior was 'absolutely criminal'.
The original poster also shared how their mom hopes to return to work when she's able.
"Her team of doctors are always telling us that 'yes it’s still stage 4, but you’re a fighter who’s staying stable on treatment'," they said.
"Now, she has been on chemotherapy for a long time now, but I genuinely believe she will make a recovery.
"I would also like to thank everyone for their well wishes and words of encouragement I didn’t think so many people would see this, but it strangely feels nice (vindicating?) to have so many people agree that this just isn’t fair."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Bec Oakes