A shop assistant who was off sick for 14 weeks with a bad back was fired the day after she returned to work.

Leia Guntley, 20, says she was unfairly sacked and is claiming compensation for discrimination on the grounds of disability at an employment tribunal against her former employers, Boots the Chemist.

Ms Guntley, of Langley Green, Crawley, broke down in tears as she told an employment tribunal in Brighton yesterday that she was dismissed in July 2001 because of her poor attendance record.

The company denies treating her unfairly.

Ms Guntley claimed she had made clear at her job interview that she had been injured in a car accident in 1998 and had since suffered problems with her neck and back.

Two months after starting work at the Boots branch at Gatwick Airport she went off sick.

She returned to work 14 weeks later but was sacked the following day.

She told the hearing she had been given no warning her job was at risk.

Ms Guntley said: "I did not expect to go into work and get sacked the next day.

"Obviously I did not want to be off sick. You cannot help being ill. I still don't understand the reason for dismissal.

"I thought I was capable of performing all the normal tasks expected of a shop assistant.

"If I had not suffered injuries in my spine, I would not have relapsed and been absent for 14 weeks and I would still be in work."

During cross-examination she denied she had not informed the company about her back when she applied for the job.

She also denied failing to keep in regular contact with the store when she was absent from work or failing to provide necessary sick notes.

She said at the time she was living in difficult circumstances because her family had been made homeless and was forced to live in hostels with no access to a telephone.

The hearing was adjourned until April 23.