A hairdresser sacked for using her phone during work hours and 'gossiping' who posted a TikTok video about quitting a toxic job has won an unfair dismissal claim.
Apprentice hairdresser Jorja McGennan was only a few months away from fully completing her apprenticeship when she was fired from Summer Jade Hair Salon in Queensland, Australia.
McGennan started her apprenticeship back in April 2021 and was given ‘multiple verbal warnings’ from salon owner Angela Park during her time as an employee concerning her ‘quality of work, her work performance, client complaints, mobile phone usage and her interactions with clients'.
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According to Park, there was allegedly no change from the budding stylist, with everything coming to a head when one of the salon’s ‘highest paying and most regular clients’ decided not to return to the salon 'because you think you are right with no ramifications', Park wrote in Jorja’s official warning letter shortly before the sacking.
McGennan told the commissioner that when she returned from sick leave in May, a salon client implied Park had ‘spoken negatively about her’.
Park said this was a 'misunderstanding' and asked Jorja to apologise to the client.
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The client then told the owner that she ‘felt uncomfortable returning to the salon while [McGennan] was at the salon after the miscommunication'.
Park eventually sent McGennan a text which read: "Clearly this is going nowhere.
"I believe the best thing is for me to give you two weeks’ notice.
"I’ve come to this conclusion because the problems aren’t being rectified. It’s going round and round with no outcome. Your final date will be Saturday, July 15. Sorry it has come to this.”
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After texting back and forth between the pair, Jorja wanted to clarify that she wasn’t resigning from her role but being sacked.
She written in a text: “I have not resigned or quit, therefore I can stay for the rest of my apprenticeship or you can terminate me."
Park responded: “OK Jorja, I have given you two weeks’ notice to terminate your employment.”
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McGennan went on to file an unfair dismissal claim that same day.
During the hearing, Park used a TikTok that was posted by McGennan which she said 'referenced quitting a toxic job' - claiming this implied she'd quit, not been fired.
"Although [Ms. McGennan] acknowledged this was an unwise decision, it did not change the fact that the employment relationship was ended by [Ms. Park] via text on July 4, 2023,” Fair Work Commission deputy president Nicholas Lake said.
Lake said that while Park was justified in being 'frustrated' at losing a long-term client, 'the incident could have been better managed'.
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He accepted that there was a ‘valid reason’ for McGennan’s dismissal, but said the final decision to fire her could have been dealt with 'more professionally', while the reasoning to sack her over the loss of a client appeared to be 'somewhat spiteful and capricious'.
The commission found that 'the number of procedural deficiencies cannot be overlooked and support the finding that [McGennan’s] dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable'.
The commissioner ruled in favour of the apprentice, saying: “As a result, I am satisfied that [McGennan] was unfairly dismissed under s.394 of the Act and is entitled to a remedy under this provision.”
A hearing will soon commence to decide the outcome of 'appropriate remedy' for McGennan.
UNILAD has contacted the Summer Jade Hair Salon for comment.
Chelsea Connor