Woman wins over £38K in flexible working case

A British Airways cabin crew member whose flexible working request was turned down has won her case for indirect sex discrimination.

The woman, who worked as an in-flight business manager for BA CityFlyer, asked to work set days due to childcare reasons after her maternity leave in 2017. She suggested a six-month trial to see if the new pattern would work and was happy to discuss other ways of working.

She said there was “an unspoken policy of not granting set flying days for part-time workers” and that many women have left after maternity leave with no in-flight business manager having been granted a flexible working request.

The tribunal heard that little attention was given by the woman’s line manager to the request or to alternative ways of working. The request was turned down on two of the grounds allowed under the flexible working legislation.  The woman appealed and this was also rejected.

She resigned in May 2018 due to her manager’s rejection of the request to work set days.

Employment Judge David Massarella said: “[The claimant] would not be able to care for her daughter in the way that she considered appropriate, and would not be able to put in place affordable childcare arrangements around the full-time shift pattern required of her by the respondent, including the refusal to agree to set days off each week, which made it more difficult for her to book childcare in advance.”

The tribunal awarded the woman £38,741.55 in compensation for unlawful discrimination.

The case comes after a tribunal ruled in early September against an employer who turned down a flexible working request by an estate agent who asked to work a four-day week and leave an hour early.

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