A DAD has told of his frustration at losing his job when he didn’t go in after spending the night in hospital with his sick daughter.

Simon Michie was working at TS Tech at the time and sent a message to Blue Arrow, the agency that recruited him.

But he was called back and told he was no longer needed.

The 41-year-old Penhill resident, said: “My daughter was having chest pains. I had done the job for two days but before doing another shift I decided we had better have her looked at.”

Simon said daughter Louise, seven, suffered heart problems and in this case she was diagnosed with a heart defect that causes the narrowing of arteries.

“She’d done the walk for cancer and that’s when it started,” he added.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time because instead of walking it, she had decided to run it, so she had just overdone it.

“I let it go but then over the weekend she was complaining again and on Sunday her heart was racing. As a parent you want to get them in the hospital as soon as possible.

“We were up there all night and by the time we got home it was pretty much time for me to go to work. I start at 6am.

“I sent a text saying I won’t be in and within the space of an hour I had a phone call to say I’ve failed to attend my full day. I went back to Blue Arrow and said I could work tomorrow, but I was told TS Tech didn’t want me back."

Luckily for Simon more work became available, but it is not as stable as he hoped.

He said: “I’m working as a temp at the brewery but it isn’t like the previous job which was temporary with a view to being permanent.

“Single parents should be granted the time off to be at home with their kids, rather than having to go into work.

“You can’t be expected to stay up all night and then work a day shift.”

A spokesperson for TS Tech, which produces car seats for companies including Honda, said: “Mr Michie was working at our Highworth site through our agency partner Blue Arrow, which we understand tried to contact him several times during the day of his absence. As our assembly line workforce numbers are critical and we did not know if he would be available, we requested a replacement.”

Blue Arrow was contacted for comment.