BA staffer wins disability discrimination claim because she was no longer fit to fly

In Miss J Clifford v British Airways plc Miss Clifford succeeded in her claims of discrimination arising from disability (in breach of section 15 of the Equality Act 2010), failure to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal.

Jennifer Clifford worked for BA for almost 40 years before being sacked. She had become stressed and depressed during a long period of absence during the Covid-19 pandemic after being placed on furlough and having been told that she would be made redundant in August 2020. 

On 21 August 2020 her redundancy was revoked and she was offered an alternative role as cabin crew. The new role was two grades below that of her role of in-flight manager. She appealed the decision and raised a grievance. 

After her sick leave she was temporarily moved to a ground role. 

By the end of 2022 she was still unable to work onboard a plan due to substantial anxiety symptoms. Part of her claim against BA was that her manager had minimised the severity of her mental health condition, downgrading it to “just a little bit of anxiety”. She was suffering with depressive illness and work-related stress which made it impossible for her to fly due to the symptoms her conditions provoked. This was evidenced in medical advice. 

Despite not having had any sick leave in her 40-year tenure Clifford was terminated because of her inability to fly. She proposed a phased return to work at Gatwick rather than Heathrow, her usual base, because this would reduce her commute which increased her stress and anxiety. She also requested two days per week working on the ground. She asserted that both requests were reasonable adjustments. 

The Employment Tribunal found in favour of Miss Clifford. A remedy hearing will follow to determine compensation.

The tribunal held that BA should have given Miss Clifford more credit for her long service and considered a different role for her that did not require her to fly. 

Giving judgment the Employment Judge commented that “a reasonable employer would have given her longer and a more suitable phased return to work. A reasonable employer would also have considered redeployment to a ground-based role before deciding to dismiss.”

This decision shows how easy it is for a claimant to succeed in a disability discrimination claim where reasonable adjustments are dismissed out of hand. It is not impossible to fairly dismiss a disabled employee but it invokes the reasonable adjustments duty and alternatives to dismissal must be fully considered. The entire thrust of the Equality Act provisions around disability discrimination are there to protect employees with disabilities from being disadvantaged and to ensure their employment is maintained because the job market is so hostile to disabled staff. 

This blog was written by Manuela de Castro, Senior Solicitor at didlaw, who had conduct of this case at her previous firm OH Parsons LLP.