[17] The Applicant said she received messages from her co-worker Ms Mariel Veas (Ms Veas) who was at work when this exchange was occurring and saw Ms Wang's reaction first hand and wanted to give the Applicant the "heads up" on what was happening. The Applicant said these messages were a shock as she had no idea she would cause such a reaction, as this was not her intention.
Week prior to alleged termination
[18] The Applicant said the week before her dismissal, she was brought in for a meeting because she had told Dream Nareekul, the shop manager, she was going through IVF and therefore had some days she couldn't work, and some things she couldn't do for the implantation time. The Applicant submitted she was forced to explain this whole part of her personal life to Ms Wang because the question was raised whether she could be working during this. The Applicant said that she could and stated that money was more important than ever during this time, and she could do everything as normal, except lifting milk crates from the fridge.
Saturday 12 March 2022
[19] The Applicant submitted that the last "disagreement" with Ms Wang occurred on Saturday 12 March, during a managerial group text regarding staff rostering, which was an important aspect of her role. The Applicant stated that she expressed that the business needed to hire another staff member for their other shop as Ms Wang consistently sent their shop's rostered staff over there, with her solution for now being understaffed, to "close the floor- do takeaways only/ close cold drinks section" which severely affected the turnover and regular customer base.
[20] The Applicant submitted that Ms Wang continuously pushed that they only needed four staff for weekends and would make comments when they had five staff on. The Applicant submitted that before Ms Wang came, they always required five staff to handle the weekend rush. After reading the Applicant's messages suggesting a solution to this ongoing problem, the Applicant said that Ms Wang became very irate and shut the conversation down.
[21] The Applicant submitted that she was informed by the manager, who was with Ms Wang at the time, that she was told by Ms Wang to "FIRE HER RIGHT NOW!! Hire another supervisor I don't care about the cost, do it now!" The Applicant stated that when the Applicant asked why Ms Wang was so upset about the messages the Applicant had sent, Ms Wang stated repeatedly that the Applicant "didn't add any smiley faces! There are no emotions!" The Applicant submitted that apparently because of this Ms Wang took what the Applicant was saying as "unfriendly".
[22] The Applicant submitted that night Ms Wang called another staff member and tried to convince that staff member to take the Applicant's job. The Applicant stated that this was before she even knew there was a big issue happening. The Applicant submitted that she was unaware that her completely reasonable text messages had created so much upset.
[23] Ms Veas provided a statement in support of the Applicant which was admitted into evidence uncontested. Ms Veas said that on Saturday 12 March, Ms Wang came into the store
