Hey y'all.
Someone close to me, let's call her P recently got fired after calling in sick for the next day (she threw up multiple times that night & didn't get a single second of sleep). She didn't get fired for being sick too often, nor for any other (imo) valid reason. She got fired because she takes breaks too often.
She works at a place in the Netherlands, and the place changed owners at least 3 times. The latest, and current owner is a Chinese lady who barely speaks Dutch, she asked P multiple times for help regarding financial and administrative topics, and she never changed any rules or worktimes for anyone working there. Now, after about 5 months of working for the latest owner, she got fired because she was not allowed to take any breaks throughout the day.
Now, I don't exactly know the rules regarding breaks in the Netherlands, but I think it's insane to tell a worker, who still follows the old owner's rules because the new owner never changed it, to not be allowed to take any breaks. P is not even allowed to sit down for a second, nor is she allowed to eat something in between work.
For P, it's parttime work. She works about 4 hours per day so it isn't the worst issue for her, but the other workers work fulltime, also without breaks.
Just posting this to see what other people think about this situation, and if I could do something for P, cause I personally think it's bullshit to fire someone for taking breaks.