British Airways flight attendant wins discrimination claim after being fired for being unable to fly

Independent

2 days ago

A long-serving British Airways cabin crew member has won a discrimination claim after she was fired when she became unable to fly due to stress and anxiety.
Jennifer Clifford worked for the airline for almost 40 years, but developed symptoms of stress and depression in September 2021, leading to a period of sick leave.
She was temporarily moved to a ground role, but was dismissed after she was still unable to return to her flying role at the end of 2022. Ms Clifford said her condition was minimised by the company, with managers having described her as having 'just a little bit of anxiety'.
A tribunal has accepted her discrimination claim, with it concluding the airline should have considered redeploying her to an alternative ground role rather than dismissing her.
Ms Clifford began working as cabin crew for British airways in 1983 before rising to become an inflight manager by the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was placed on furlough in April 2020 and was told she would be made redundant in August. However, she was then offered the alternative role of cabin crew, two grades below her previous job, and launched a grievance about this.
In September 2021, she began her period of sick leave, her first in almost 40 years working at the airline.
She told her bosses she would be comfortable committing to a phased return in a ground role in Gatwick Airport, which was closer to her home than her usual Heathrow base.
She was offered a role in the Heathrow Help Hub and began a phased return to work two days a week here in September 2022.
When this increased to three days a week, Ms Clifford told BA that she found this overwhelming and that the long commute to Heathrow and the fast-paced and noisy environment was having a significant impact on her wellbeing.
Her line manager here, Nigel Landy, asked her multiple times why she felt overwhelmed and described her as having 'just a little bit of anxiety'.
The tribunal also heard how Mr Landy told staff: 'If you don't like working here then leave.'
When she was still unable to fly by the end of 2022, her termination date was set for March 2023 but she left in December 2022.
Ms Clifford's complaint was upheld by the tribunal judge Emma Hawksworth, who said: 'The claimant needed a phased return in a ground duties placement before returning to her full contractual flying role.
'That was because of the need to rebuild her confidence and to give time to adjust to working again, and these requirements arose from her disability. She had problems working at the help hub because of the busy environment, arising from her anxiety and depression causing her to feel overwhelmed. She struggled with the long commute because that increased feelings of stress and anxiety arising in consequence of her disability.
'She remained unable, because of anxiety and depression, to return to her flying role when required to do so by the respondent at the end of the resourcing and recruitment placement.'
The judgement added: 'The claimant had very long service with the respondent. She had had a lengthy period of absence from work, in part because of things for which she was not responsible: a long period of furlough and a long period when the respondent was considering her grievance.
'A reasonable employer would have given the claimant a longer and more suitable phased return and would, in line with its policy, have considered redeployment to a ground based role before deciding to dismiss her.'
Ms Clifford's additional claim of sex discrimination was dismissed.