Mum saves burning man’s life . . and has wage docked
TIME OFF FOR COUNSELLING COSTS WORKER £500
WHEN flames engulfed a man at work, Tania Armstrong risked her life to save his.
Her reward? A thank you from bosses – who later docked £500 from her wages.
Tania claimed she needed time off due to the horror she witnessed. She says she suffers nightmares and fears the smell of the man’s burning flesh will scar her forever.
But the Tyne Housing Association slashed her pay due to “cumulative sickness absence”.
The firm admitted there is “no doubt” she saved a life – and maybe others – but the mum-of-two still had her wages cut due to the firm’s sickness policy.
“How could I have gone into work after that? If I had I’d have put other people at risk,” fumed Tania.
“I’ve saved a man’s life, and then they want to take just under half my pay – how can they do that to someone?”
The Halloween horror unfolded at Byker Bridge House, where she worked for four years.
A fire alarm went off in the middle of the night – and Tania says she opened the door to an image which will forever haunt her.
“He was lying on the floor, his body on fire with massive flames on his chest and his clothes melted on his body,” said the 37-year-old.
“The smoke and flames were almost up to my chest, so I tried putting it out with a towel.”
That didn’t work. Unable to call for help via radio due to the wailing alarm, she says that, with her shaking hands, she managed to grab a fire extinguisher. The man was left with painful burns. Tania said: “He basically had to be peeled off the floor.”
But, miraculously, he survived, not least to Tania’s “unthinking bravery”, according to her employer.
“I know the fire service have told you that your actions almost certainly saved this man’s life,” stated a November letter from Tyne Housing Association. “All the information we have received leads us to the same conclusion.”
At her Walker home, Tania joked she thought she may get a medal. Instead, she says that she now needs a new job after the fallout sickened her so much she felt she had no option but to quit.
“I can’t go to work thinking, ‘if there is an incident and I have to react, will I be financially penalised?’,” she said.
Disciplinary proceedings were launched weeks before the fire after Tania had two bouts of absence – one for just a day with a sore throat and a bout of time off for stress.
“That was after I found a dead body,” claimed Tania, who looked after vulnerable people, including drug addicts and ex-offenders.
“I’ve also had needle injuries and been assaulted at work, so I do put up with a lot – but I loved my job.”
She claims she was warned that the maximum penalty she faced then was a warning.
Tania also says she was always careful to adhere to company policy of obtaining a sick note for absences longer than a few days.
She said she was off again after the blaze, receiving counselling. In a letter sent last week, the firm insisted her £565 salary reduction was correct.
It states: “The policy is applied consistently for all sickness absences and does not allow for discretionary judgement on the nature or seriousness of an individual’s absence.”
After realising the deduction would leave her struggling, Tania says the firm then offered to loan her the missing cash in a gesture of “good faith”.
“To me that was the most insulting thing at all, as I wouldn’t even get it until after Christmas – it was a joke,” she raged.
And with Christmas nearing, she says that she is now jobless, and admits: “I won’t be able to treat my kids like I would want for Christmas.
“I barely sleep, and when I do I have nightmares – I won’t forget the smell of the flesh.
“My husband is waking me up, telling me I’m shouting and bawling – it is horrendous.”
The firm declined to comment on Tania’s case specifically, however, they did issue a general statement, it said: “As a company, we are fully committed to providing all employees with the necessary support, training and resources to help them to carry out their jobs effectively.
“Due to the sometimes challenging environment we operate in, it is inevitable that our staff are faced with very difficult issues so we provide all staff with counselling and coping services.
“Our sickness policy is in line with similar organisations to ourselves.”
In letters seen by the Sunday Sun, the firm told Tania her sick pay had been “exhausted due to previous instances of sickness”.