To think this isn't discrimination?

[Onlyrainbows]

Not in the UK so different labour laws apply. Single mother couldn't go to work as she'd normally would due to child being sick and not having able to leave her with anyone else. She ended up being dismissed for missing work. She's calling it "discrimination", I'm saying it's not really that it's her responsibility to secure childcare and emergency childcare. Sure the employer could have been more empathetic, but this doesn't mean it's discrimination.

What sort of proviso would you expect her to have in place for when her child is sick and can’t attend school or private nursery?

Parents can take unpaid leave in any sensible country and to deny that is discrimination.

Sounds like something that would only happen in the US which is just a cesspit for worker’s rights.

Based on UK law it is potential discrimination

It depends on so many other factors that we don't know.

Depends. Would a man have been dismissed for the same reason? Probably not.

Depends would a man be dismissed and how old is the child? If secondary school age could they reasonably have been left at home

Seems to me like it’s something that would disproportionately affect women and it could be argued that it’s discrimination.

I thought for it to be discrimination it has to relate to a protected characteristic. Being a single parent isn't a protected characteristic.

Yes it is discrimination. People without kids can take last minute days off due to personal circumstances and all sorts of reasons, such as bereavement, or leak in flat and are not fired. That’s part of employing humans. Dismissing someone because of a childcare issue is discrimination. It’s a common issue for parents and saying you dismiss for that is excluding primary parent careers, mostly women, from the workplace.

Yeah, I'm not sure being a parent is a protected characteristic!

Her employer seems unusually harsh, but as it's not the UK she probably won't have any recourse

Exactly! It has to be a protected characteristic. My employer (UK) doesn't really give a toss if I have childcare issues (which I do have at times) and I'm not a single parent, so what am I supposed to claim then?

I think you'd have to take into account how many times it has happened, does she have form for needing last minute time off? Is the child too young to be left alone? Of course the country is relevant as it'll have its own laws.
On the face of it I'd say it sounds like an unfair dismissal, but not enough background to say much more.

What? They don’t have to particularly care but they do have to follow their legal obligation to give you time off.
It might not be a protected characteristic but parents in the UK are entitled to claim unpaid parental leave for their child under 18.

Yea unfair dismissal sounds more accurate than discrimination

It's discrimination if it's an issue that disproportionately affects those with a protected characteristic - in this case women.
There are considerably more women single parents than men so your friend does have a case. Under UK law that would give her access to pursue an unfair dismissal claim if employed for less than 2 years.

In the UK you're entitled to unpaid leave to care for a sick child.

It's pretty impossible to find emergency childcare for a poorly kid.

Men are very rarely in that situation, which is why it might be indirect sex discrimination.

Family status is a protected characteristic where I am.

And do you think the UK is the only place with labour laws? Most of Europe has far better ones. Why would this person have no recourse outside of the UK?

There's discrimination and there's illegal discrimination.

For example, a pilot who goes blind perfectly legal to dismiss in the UK and most other countries I'd imagine

It would be discrimination under UK laws as it is mostly women who bear the brunt for childcare, it is mostly mothers who when a marriage splits have the main responsibility for the children plus the right to emergency dependents leave is legislated for.

OP, the protected characteristic is her sex. Childcare issues can affect men but they disproportionately affect women.

Read up on indirect discrimination. It's a thing.

Well, the father, who presumably is long gone, is 50/50 responsible for the child. I'm assuming he wasn't even involved in the 'who should look after our child?' Debate. And, thus, he hasn't been fired.
So, this is discrimination on the grounds that one parent, and it's almost always the father, can simply choose to absolve themselves of all responsibility. That, to me, is the problem that needs solving.

YABU, as we don't know the exact reason for the dismissal or what jusrisdiction applies.

Is she claiming illegal discrimination, or that the company is being discriminatory in applying/following its own policies? Has she said it's discrimination on the grounds of sex? As someone else pointed out, it could also fall under protections for family status or even marital status. Is she planning to take legal action, or just venting? If she doesn't have a legitimate claim, it won't go to court, so no need to worry about it.

Sounds like something that would only happen in the US which is just a cesspit for worker’s rights. Generally workers' rights fall under the jusrisdiction of the individual states. In California, for example, working parents can use sick leave to care for a child, and if not entitled to sick leave sick can take unpaid leave. However, there may be other circumstances in this case - for example, if she didn't follow the procedure for reporting her absence, or failed to provide some kind of proof of the child's illness after x days, etc. The Family Medical Leave Act also applies in every state, so someone who can demonstrate legitimate ongoing caring responsibilities which might unexpectedly conflict with work can arrange protection for unexpected time off in advance without disclosing the details to the employer.

RE the suggestion that workers' rights are worse in the USA than anywhere else: I wish you were correct, for non-US workers' sakes, but in many places they are worse.

How can we possibly know? Maybe she claimed her child was ill but was then seen with child at the beach.

Or maybe this is the 10th time she's been off due to child sickness since January.