A pregnant hairdresser in Brisbane has decided not to pursue legal action after she was fired from her work, via text message. Sahra Danes told The Courier Mail that rather than spending thousands of dollars pursuing legal remedy, she decided to save the money for her baby due in September. Danes, who worked on a casual, full-time basis at Elysium Hair & Beauty, was fired in a 20 May text from salon owner Oscar Henderson. She said she was "pretty distraught" at being sacked by text, having worked at the company since June 2010. "I re-read it a couple of times because it didn't sink in," she said. "Then I started crying, and I rang Mum straight away and told her what happened." Henderson and Danes had been engaged in a disagreement the day before over customer service practices. In the text, he wrote: "I gave a lot of thought to our chat yesterday and I think it's in all interests that we call it a day for you at Elysium Hair & Beauty. I'm ending your employment with immediate effect (you are not required for work today)." Henderson said the text was "a last resort" after trying to call Danes twice. "She was due into work that day and I actually thought for her it was less embarrassing," he said.

"I did what I needed to do for what I felt was the best situation for Sahra and for the salon." Danes is not able to lodge an unfair dismissal claim as she was sacked weeks before the qualifying period of a year's employment. She was advised by a law firm that she could lodge an "adverse action claim", but it would cost at least $2,000 in legal fees. "I really thought about it because I was a bit upset that he could do something like that but then I thought I need that money to start all over again . . . and for the baby, too," she said. This came only days before the first known ruling by Fair Work Australia against an employer for firing staff by text, with a Sydney boutique fined almost $10,000.