Latest news with #Samsons
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
‘Spiteful' boss cut pregnant accountant's hours after she told him she had morning sickness
A 'spiteful' boss cut his pregnant employee's work hours after she told him she had morning sickness, and then fired her when her maternity leave was due to start, a tribunal has heard. Sadia Shakil had worked as an accountant and bookkeeper at the property development firm Samsons in Bedford since October 2020, and became pregnant early the following year. But after Ms Shakil phoned her boss Mohammed Saleem on 30 March 2021 to inform him that she was experiencing morning sickness due to her pregnancy, he then proceeded to tell her in an email the following day that he was cutting her working hours. In the email seen by the tribunal, Mr Saleem wrote: 'Considering that I am unable to give you extra work as I am abroad and in view that you are feeling unwell during your pregnancy it would be best if you only come into work for 2 days per week.' The tribunal ruled that this was a 'fundamental' breach of Ms Shakil's employment contract, which caused her to experience 'stress, anxiety and panic' while questioning how she and her husband would be able to afford essential items for their baby now that their main source of income had been unilaterally reduced. During this period, Ms Shakil suffered sleepless nights and panic attacks while being 'plagued by worrisome thoughts', including 'doubts about whether she had done the right thing to have a baby at all when she was not financially stable'. After informing her boss that she needed to resign, Ms Shakil managed to secure a second full-time job in May, but she continued to work at Samsons in her spare time in the hope she would be able to resume her full-time role at the firm after her maternity leave. In the months that followed, Mr Saleem ignored multiple emails from Ms Shakil about her upcoming maternity leave, 'which caused her further stress and worry', at a time when she also suffered complications, being admitted to hospital on two occasions. By the end of September, blood tests had revealed a potentially serious condition which Ms Shakil was told put her baby at risk of still birth, resulting in the hospital booking her in to have her baby induced on 17 October. Two days after Ms Shakil's final email on 27 September, informing Mr Saleem that her leave would now commence on 1 October, he finally responded – referring to a letter she had not received 'putting her role at risk of redundancy '. Ms Shakil was dismissed with effect from 1 October 2021, when she began maternity leave, the tribunal noted. After her son was born on 18 October, the family were forced to move back in with Ms Shakil's parents 'due to the financial pressure that [her] loss of employment and lack of maternity pay had created'. Ms Shakil's subsequent claim to the Department for Work and Pensions for maternity allowance was then rejected on the grounds that her employer was responsible for paying it. 'The claimant's early weeks and months with her new baby were marred by the need to devote time to trying to resolve her financial predicament and bringing the employment tribunal proceedings,' the tribunal found. After an initial tribunal in Birmingham in April 2023, Ms Shakil was awarded £5,000 in damages for maternity discrimination and Samsons ordered to pay her for income lost while on reduced hours. In an email sent in June 2023 in which he asked Ms Shakil to provide her bank details so that he could pay her the sum awarded by the tribunal, Mr Saleem wrote 'I hope that you have a wonderful time utilising the monies gained from me', adding that the loss of money 'will make no difference to me'. A further appeal hearing in March 2025 found that Ms Shakil 'was horrified' by the email – which she described as 'disturbing and 'nasty' – and 'was shocked that Mr Saleem could be so spiteful to her'. Ms Shakil's appeal that the sum awarded to her had been too low was accepted, and the judge ordered Samsons to pay her a total of £31,860. Finding it to be a 'serious case of discrimination', the tribunal found: 'The discrimination took place at a time in the claimant's life which she had hoped and planned would be exciting and happy – the pregnancy, birth and early life of her first child. 'Instead, she suffered physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety and distress. These included sleepless nights, panic attacks, intrusive anxious thoughts and tearfulness. There was evidence that the claimant's confidence and self-esteem were damaged by the discrimination. 'These symptoms persisted from the time she was told that her hours had been cut to two days per week, until her baby was born. The symptoms did not stop then, however, because of the claimants' ongoing financial struggles.' It added: 'The effects of the discriminatory dismissal were ongoing at the time of the hearing, four years later, because the claimant is still worried that she might have a similar experience with her new employer if she decides to have another baby.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lebanon City Council compromises with business on downtown alley project
The Lebanon City Council has voted to close half of a downtown alley to vehicular traffic for safety and as a compromise between the city and downtown business owners. The first 60 feet of the eastern alley leading from Meridian Street and the Boone County Courthouse will be converted into a pedestrian space, while the remaining 63 feet will serve as a loading and unloading zone for local businesses. The Lebanon Ballet School entrance was recently moved to the north side of its building which lets out into the alley. As part of a building revitalization, another business will use the Meridian Street entrance previously used by ballet students. Samson Historical, a historical outfitter of the American Colonial period, occupies two buildings immediately north of and bordering the alley. The only access to one building's basement is from the alley. Owners Casey and Abbie Samson park their truck and trailer in the alleyway to load and unload educational materials and products for sales trips. And loading often takes an hour or more, not the 10 minutes of loading time allowed by the city. Four alleys lead away from the downtown Lebanon square, one in each direction. Three are not thruways for traffic but blocked at the point they would enter the square. Two of those, the north and south, have been converted to pedestrian spaces. The fourth, on the west side, serves as a pharmacy drive-thru. City leaders and The Heart of Lebanon proposed closing the alley between Samson Historical and the Lebanon Ballet School to vehicles at the April 14 city council meeting. They wanted to convert the eastern alley into a pedestrian space as part of the city's downtown action plan and to protect ballet students. The city plans to have a mural painted there. The ordinance also bans dumpsters in pedestrian alleys. The Samsons have two dumpsters in the back of the alley at the corner of their building after being told they may not place them behind their building due to the close proximity of utility meters. The Samsons proposed a compromise of closing the front half of the alley and leaving the back half for area businesses' purposes. But Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry and Heart of Lebanon officials wanted a complete closure and the council tabled the ordinance. Social media then blew up with discussions about government overreach. And Gentry said that if voters didn't want the eastern alley involved, he'd withdraw it from the ordinance, which would then protect only the north and south alleys from dumpsters and vehicles. But Councilwoman Sandra Jasionowski argued on Monday that the city should accept the Samsons' compromise in the interest of safety and being good neighbors to businesses. She said other businesses also use that alley. 'The last thing I want to do is hinder business,' she said. Gentry argued for closing the first 90 feet and leaving the remaining 33 feet for a loading zone to allow more public space and still leave room for trucks and trailers, but the council rejected that idea. Councilman Rob Hawkins said the city should also amend its ordinance that allows only 10 minutes for loading and unloading to lengthen the period because Samson's is not the only downtown business that takes longer than 10 minutes for that task. The time limit dates back to the early 1900s and milk delivery trucks. The city of Lawrence allows two hours, a Samson employee said. Gentry said a change in the loading times would require a separate ordinance. Another Samson employee told the council the company loads and unloads during normal, daytime business hours. Most of the ballet school students arrive at 5 p.m. and after. The Samsons missed the meeting because they are selling goods at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Virginia as part of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence being celebrated this year. But they posted a statement on social media, thanking those who wrote letters of support and attended the council meeting on their behalf. 'We are grateful that council members recognized the importance of balancing the needs of businesses, families, and the broader community,' their post said in part. 'Moving forward, we will continue to be diligent in following the new ordinance and remain committed to ensuring the safety of everyone downtown – including the ballet school students who share this space with us each day, one of whom is our own daughter.'
National Post
01-05-2025
- Climate
- National Post
Israeli Air Force uses big guns to contain Jerusalem-area fire
Israeli Air Force pilots have joined firefighting teams working to contain several conflagrations that have consumed about 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of forest and terrain, mostly near Jerusalem. Article content Article content These efforts and weather conditions helped stabilize the situation, but the Israel Fire & Rescue Authority said in a statement on Thursday morning that its 155 teams were still working to contain the fires, in which no one was killed but which resulted in the hospitalization of 12 civilians and 17 firefighters. Thousands of residents have been evacuated from their homes in the Judean Foothills. Article content Article content On Wednesday night, the IAF deployed its big guns in the fight against the fires: its two Samson airplanes, the Israeli name for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, which has only recently been added to Israel's firefighting arsenal. Article content Article content Samsons converted into fire extinguishing aircraft have been conducting dozens of sorties since Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces said, dumping up to 15,000 litres of water or fire retardant per flight. The Foreign Ministry has reached out for assistance to nearby countries, including Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria, it said in a statement. Article content On the ground, firefighters battled flames across the country, but on Thursday morning, they still had not 'gained control of the fires,' the Fire and Rescue Authority's statement said. Three roads that had been closed on Wednesday — Roads 1, 3 and 38 — were reopened on Thursday, police said. Article content Canada Park near Beit Shemesh has been hardest hit, according to a statement by KKL-JNF, a eco-Zionist organization dedicated to the sustainable development of Israel, and especially its forest management programs. Article content Article content Several countries have already pledged to send help. Spain will dispatch two firefighting planes, while France, Romania, Croatia and Italy have also confirmed they will send aircraft. Ukraine has now joined the list as well, said the Foreign Ministry statement. Article content Article content Alongside the Samsons and another especially-fitted firefighting aircraft, Israel's firefighting Elad squadron has 14 Air Tractor AT-802F firefighting aircraft, five Airbus H-125 helicopters and two Airbus Helicopters H-145 helicopters. In the first hours of the fire that began on Wednesday at around noon, many of these aircraft were not able to operate due to strong winds. Article content Shin Bet (Israel's Security Agency) is investigating the fires, which started on Israel's Memorial Day, hours before its Independence Day celebrations. Incitement calling on Palestinians to set fires circulated on social media ahead of the holiday, which coincided with dry and windy weather.
