Sydney Harbour shop worker says she was FIRED because she wore a face mask over fears she'd contract the deadly coronavirus
- A woman claims she was fired from her Sydney CBD job for wearing a face mask
- Tiffany said she decided to wear the mask on January 23 amid coronavirus fears
- The 24-year-old from Hong Kong claims she was told to take off mask or go home
- The store manager said Tiffany was not fired and employees can wear masks
A holiday-maker from Hong Kong claims she was fired from her Sydney CBD job after wearing a mask to work amid fears about the spread of deadly coronavirus.
Tiffany, who didn't want to give her last name, wore the face mask for her shift at UGG Australian Collection, near Sydney Opera House, on January 23.
The 24-year-old, who is on a working holiday visa, claims she was asked to remove the face mask or 'go home' by her manager and boss.
But the store boss claims Tiffany has not lost her job over the incident and other staff members have been allowed to wear masks.
Pictured: Tiffany contacted her boss via WhatsApp. The 24-year-old claims she was fired for wearing a face mask on January 23 but he said it was false
The store boss, who does not wish to be identified, said Tiffany was welcome back at work, screenshots of the messages showed
Tiffany said there wasn't a lot of information about the virus at the time of the incident but she knew it was deemed similar to SARS.
'Having the lesson from SARS outbreak in my hometown, wearing a mask is the best way to protect myself from getting the disease,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'Given the rising confirmed cases [of coronavirus] around the world, I decided to wear a mask as a personal protection.
'My job involves numerous face-to face contact with Chinese tourists and I have no idea where in China where they're from.'
Tiffany said her manager told her to remove the mask.
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When she asked if she could wear it while serving tourist groups from China, Tiffany claims she was again told no.
'I don't think this [wearing a mask] affects my personal working ability,' Tiffany said.
'At the same time, I had a mild cough so I didn't want to spread that.'
the 24-year-old claims she also asked customers if they would have a problem with her wearing a face mask and they responded it would be 'fine'.
Tiffany said her manager then called her superior, who she claims also said 'no' to her wearing the protective measure.
Pictured: The UGG Australian Collection store near the Sydney Opera House. Tiffany wore a face mask to work on January 23, amid heightened anxiety about the spread of coronavirus
'After a while, the boss was back in the shop and he asked me to take my mask off or go home,' she said.
'I didn't seem to have much to choose from there. So I went home.'
Tiffany said she wasn't initially sure if she was fired as he never directly said: 'You're fired'.
But the day later, Tiffany said she was removed from the store's WhatsApp group, where employees receive their rosters and work-related updates.
'This is undoubtedly an act to show that I was fired,' she said.
She said she emailed her boss a few times to request a back payment and letter of termination but the emails bounced back.
Tiffany said wearing a face mask is 'personal protection' against infection and shouldn't impact her ability to work. Pictured: Travellers wear face masks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Tuesday
Tiffany then contacted her boss via WhatsApp, where he claimed she was never fired.
The store boss, who does not wish to be identified, said Tiffany was welcome back at work, screenshots of their messages show.
In response to his message's, Tiffany said: 'I never said that I wasn't coming back. Now he's just making false accusations.'
'He asked me if I'm going back to work but you just fired me and you won't let me wear a mask. I just think he wants to get the thing resolved.'
Tiffany said it is a 'good thing' if the store are now letting employees wear face masks.
'To be honest, wearing a mask is a personal protection thing. As long as it doesn't affect my working ability, it doesn't matter. It's about safety,' she said.
Tiffany's boss claims she was not told to take off her mask and was not fired. The Circular Quay store is pictured
Tiffany said she is seeking legal advice over the incident and Fair Work have advised it's a difficult case due to its 'he said, she said' nature.
The store's boss claims Tiffany was not told to take off her mask and was not fired.
'We told her she could take some time off [during the virus] and her job would still be here but she said ''no'',' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'We have staff members wearing the masks today [Wednesday], I'm not going to tell one employee not wear a mask.'
He did not wish to comment further.
There are 13 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia and more than 20,000 across the world.
The outbreak has killed more than 400 people in China, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.
Residents across Sydney and the world have opted to wear the protective masks in a bid to stop the spread of the illness.
Pictured: Residents wear surgical masks in central district of Hong Kong
