A veteran British Airways flight attendant has won a disability discrimination and unfair dismissal case after being sacked when she was unable to fly due to anxiety and depression. Jennifer Clifford, who had worked for the airline for nearly 40 years, sued BA after her manager allegedly described her condition as 'just a little bit of anxiety.'
An employment tribunal in Reading, Berkshire, found that BA should have given Clifford more credit for her long service and offered greater flexibility for a return to work that did not involve flying. Clifford had never taken sick leave during her decades at BA until the pandemic, when she was placed on furlough and later sick leave for stress and depression.
After being temporarily moved to a ground role, she was unable to return to flying by the end of 2022 and was dismissed. Clifford had proposed a phased return from Gatwick Airport instead of her usual Heathrow base and requested two days a week on the ground, but BA set a termination date if she did not become fit to fly.
Employment Judge Emma Hawksworths ruled that a reasonable employer would have provided a longer phased return and considered redeployment to a ground-based role. The judge noted that manager Nigel Landy's comment about 'just a little bit of anxiety' minimised her condition. Clifford's additional claim of sex discrimination was dismissed.
