| Table of Contents Page 1 – Introduction Page 1 – Being Cabin Crew Page 2 – Behind the Galley Curtain Page 2 – What a Great Company Page 2 – Employee Mental Health Page 3 – Working Well, Living Better Page 4 – Ex-Police Officer Bart Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth Part 2 |
Behind the Galley Curtain
Since joining this airline in 1990, there has always been a problem with flights going ‘crew down’. Crew down means a flight goes with fewer operating Cabin Crew onboard than it should have. It was a fairly common occurrence, particularly during significant events such as Christmas and New Year. I remember one year, a significant number of cabin crew called in sick on the day of the Big Brother final.
Although cabin crew do a duty called ‘standby’, which means they can be called out to join a flight to replace someone who’s gone sick, there was rarely enough cover. Flights often went crew down or with crew members working up in a rank they were not trained to work in. It was common for cabin crew to work up as an Onboard Manager or for Onboard Managers to work down as cabin crew.
On one Christmas Eve flight to Barbados I was four crew members down. We had twelve cabin crew on a Boeing 747 looking after more than 400 passengers. One crew member was also working up in the rank of Economy Purser.
Upon arriving at Cabin Crew Check-In on 24th December 2018 for my flight to Atlanta with Bart, I discovered we were one crew member down, and there were no Pursers. So instead of three on-board managers, as there should have been, it was just me.
I was told by a Cabin Crew Manager that all cabin crew on standby had been used, so I would probably have to go one crew member down. Furthermore, as there were no trained Pursers on the flight, I’d also have to get two crew members to work up to fill those positions.
The Pursers, who are the ‘cabin supervisors’, support the Flight Manager. One works in Economy, the other in First Class. They run the services and lead, support, and develop their crew.
Out of ten cabin crew members who had been rostered on this flight, seven were still in or just out of probation. When a crew member joins the airline, they’re on probation for their first twelve months. Another crew member was on his first flight back after being on a ground placement for a year.
When a cabin crew member needs to work up in the rank of Purser, the Flight Manager normally asks the most experienced crew member to step into the role. Experience tends to be determined by time in the company or time in rank.
Since joining the airline in 1990, it had always been a requirement that cabin crew working positions, also known as ‘areas of responsibility’, be allocated by the Flight Manager. However, the vast majority of Flight Managers, including myself, allowed the crew to choose where on the aircraft they wanted to work, which was far more popular.
The following extract comes from the company’s Cabin Crew Procedures manual;
From the day the airline began operations, there had been Junior and Senior cabin crew. The Juniors worked in Economy, and in later years, after being introduced as a new cabin, they also worked in Premium. The Seniors worked in First Class. The cabin crew hierarchy was Junior, Senior, Purser, Flight Manager. The two Pursers and Flight Manager were ‘on-board managers’.
In early 2018, the company combined the Junior and Senior ranks. Therefore, with now only one rank, the cabin crew could work in any position on the aircraft. Up until this significant change, Senior was a promotion that came with an increase in salary.
I was one of only a small number of flying staff who supported the change, but there were problems with how it was implemented. First Class was a much nicer working environment, so some crew began arriving at Cabin Crew Check-In much earlier than necessary to secure a working position in that cabin.
The small number of Flight Managers who followed company procedure and allocated working positions themselves often allocated them in order of seniority. Therefore, the most senior crew still ended up working in First.
While that seems logical because of experience, the problem was that cabin crew with lower seniority were not getting the experience they needed to work in that cabin. Working in First was very different to working in Economy, and the galley position required some level of expertise. The galley, where all food is cooked and prepared, is the heart of the service, and the way it’s run is reflected in the way the First Class service is delivered. Imagine working as waiting staff in a busy restaurant, and the only person in the kitchen has little or no experience of working there.
In the months after the Junior and Senior ranks were combined, I operated several flights on which none of the crew had ever worked in the First Class cabin. Working with an entire team unfamiliar with the service and environment made everything far more difficult and would also have a negative impact on customers’ experience.
Following one flight that was pretty awful, I decided to follow company procedure and allocate working positions myself, instead of allowing the crew to choose where they wanted to work. Only a small number of Flight Managers did this. I felt it would ensure that everyone had the opportunity to gain experience in all three cabins.
While trying to decide who would be most suitable to fill the two Purser positions on my flight to Atlanta, a Cabin Crew Manager came to speak with me. She explained that one of her crew, who had been with the airline for just over a year, had flown previously. She said she had been with her previous airline for about thirty years and was a Flight Manager for twenty years. She wanted to mention it because with me having so many new crew, she thought it may help me out.
Despite Katrina being relatively new, I felt her previous flying experience would make her the ideal person to step into a supervisory role. I now had to decide who could work up as the other Purser.
Only three of the eleven cabin crew had been with the company for any length of time. One of those people was Bruce, who I had flown with previously. However, I didn’t feel he was suitable to work in a supervisory role. Therefore, I allocated him the First Class galley position.
I was initially going to ask Lottie to work up as Purser because she was the most experienced, but decided on Katrina because it would mean Lottie could work an aisle position (in First Class). If Lottie worked up as Purser, all three cabin crew serving in the aisles would have been relatively new, and from past experience, I knew that could affect the pace at which the service was delivered.
Although the First Class Purser is a hands-on position, they usually spend most of their time helping in and around the galley because that’s where they’re needed the most.
Before being advised that Ven had been called to join the flight from standby, I was one crew member down. Therefore, the most logical thing for me to do was to work in the position that looked after the Premium cabin, but in doing that, I wouldn’t be able to oversee or help out with the service in First as much as I would normally. That was another reason why I wanted someone with experience serving in one of the aisles.
When a flight goes crew down it creates many problems. Each crew member serves a specific area of the aircraft and has their own duties and responsibilities.
With the two most experienced cabin crew both working in First, it only left the person who had been on a ground placement for a year to work up as the other Purser. Tommy had been with the airline for several years but was on his first flight back. I had received an email from him a few days earlier.
It was an impossible situation. I needed someone with experience working in the First Class galley and also needed at least one person with experience working in the cabin, which didn’t leave anyone except Tommy to work up as Purser in Economy.
The primary responsibility of the Economy Purser is to direct the four crew members working in that cabin and to coordinate the services. Therefore, I felt it should be something that Tommy could cope with.
As we had never met, I decided to speak with him when he arrived at Check-In and would then make my final decision. In the meantime, Katrina who had previously been a Flight Manager at another airline, arrived. Having asked how she felt about working up as Purser, she said she was happy to give it a go.
I placed her in First Class because with me working in Premium, which was the next cabin, I was not too far away. That position also works out of the First Class galley.
When Tommy arrived, we spoke for some time about him working as Purser in Economy. After explaining the situation and asking if he was happy to work in a supervisory position, he agreed and was enthusiastic.
He told me that he had recently applied for promotion to that rank but his application had not been successful. I said working up would be a good experience. He said two of the crew in Economy were his friends, so they would give him plenty of support. Those people were Mia and Bart’s fiancée Anna.
The first time I applied for promotion to Flight Manager, I was unsuccessful. On the day I received my rejection letter, I was told I was required to work up in that rank on my next flight. Having just been turned down for the position, I was very reluctant. After speaking with my manager, she said it would be a good experience and would look good on my file. I learnt from that and put it into practice many times over the years.
It was my second time working up as Flight Manager. On this flight, during a busy meal service, I found two of the cabin crew in Economy arguing with each other over a service cart in the aisle.
Upon returning home, I received this letter from my manager:
On another occasion, after being promoted to Flight Manager, I checked in for a flight to Miami to find we were three crew members down, two Juniors and a Purser. Following a discussion with the other Purser who was present, I decided to ask an experienced Junior with whom I’d flown many times whether she wanted to work up. In those days, that was unheard of.
Sheryl was confident, had heaps of experience, and did a great job. Many years later, she became a Cabin Crew Manager.
I wrote lengthy performance feedback on her and subsequently received the following letter from my manager.
F/A, which is Flight Attendant, is now known as ‘Cabin Crew’.
By the time the Pre-Flight Briefing began for my Christmas Eve flight to Atlanta with Bart, I’d allocated all cabin crew their inflight working positions. I had also spoken at length to Tommy and Katrina, both of whom had agreed to work up in a supervisory position.
With the exception of Bruce, who was working in the First Class galley, I had not flown with any of the crew before. Everyone except Bart had spoken to me before the Pre-Flight Briefing began. They came to introduce themselves and to ask which working position they had been allocated.
The first time I saw and spoke to Bart was in the Pre-Flight Briefing. What I didn’t know until some time later was that he already didn’t like me. As crazy as that may sound, considering we had never met, the reason was that I hadn’t asked him if he would like to work up as Purser. He had been flying for eleven months and had no previous flying experience.
Although Katrina had only been with the company for slightly longer than him, she had many years of flying and onboard managerial experience.
The following extract comes from my defence. “Performance management” relates to the performance feedback that I wrote on Bart following our flight. “PUR” is an abbreviation for Purser, JR90 is a code used to indicate a crew member is new to the company. “CSS” (customer service supervisor) is Purser.
The second extract comes from minutes that were taken during Bart’s meeting with the company regarding his grievance.
Ven, the male crew member whose ankle I touched, had four years of experience. He had been called to join our flight from standby because we needed an additional crew member. He arrived at the aircraft while passengers were boarding so wasn’t at the Cabin crew Check-In area when I allocated working positions.
As we were leaving the check-in lounge for the aircraft, I was told an additional crew member was on their way. By this time, I had no desire to start changing working positions around. Furthermore, having never flown with Ven previously, I didn’t know whether he would want to work up in a supervisory role or would even be suitable.
With Ven now joining the crew, he could work the position in the Premium cabin that I was going to work which would mean I could concentrate on my own role and support Katrina working up as Purser in First.
The person with eight years of experience was Lottie. As already stated, I wanted her to work an aisle position in the First Class cabin to maintain the pace of the service.
The crew member who had been flying for seven years was Bruce. I allocated him the First Class galley because I didn’t feel he was suitable to work in a supervisory role. Before questioning my judgment, take a look at this photo:
I took this photograph during the flight when Mia, who accused me of touching her leg, approached me during the dinner service. She was working in Economy but had come to First Class after they finished their service to help out.
She spoke to me because she wanted to show me the Christmas dinner that was being served. Her concern was portion size, not the dreadful presentation. The First Class food is cooked in the oven in small foil trays and is then plated by the crew member working in the galley, that was Bruce.
These meals were on their way to two First Class customers. The fare from Atlanta to Heathrow in First Class on this airline is approximately £4000, but that can vary slightly depending on the type of ticket.
I took the photo to send with my flight documentation to the catering department. I wanted to draw their attention to the size of the turkey slices. I then spoke with Bruce about how the presentation.
Bruce was one of the two crew members who didn’t return their witness statements.
When I walked into the galley, it was chaos. Bruce told me one meal couldn’t be used because it had been overcooked. Another was waiting to be picked up by a crew member to be delivered to a customer.
What a Great Company
The grievance filed against me by ex-police officer Bart dragged on for a year. The effect of dealing with it had a catastrophic effect on my already fragile mental health. I suffered debilitating depression and anxiety and was plagued with suicidal thoughts.
I had recently been allocated a new manager because my original manager had moved to a different base. My new manager and manager Hayley, who would be dealing with the second part of the grievance investigation, were fully aware of my situation. I had spoken to them several times about my mental health.
Following the initial grievance investigation that was carried out by a different manager, I struggled with overwhelming depression and was off work for several weeks. The meeting took place just a few months after my dad died.
While on sick leave, I spoke to Hayley on more than one occasion about the next stage of the process, which was the disciplinary meeting.
The following screenshot comes from a WhatsApp conversation between me and Hayley:
Just a week after I returned home from my Christmas flight with Bart, my dad, who was 96, passed away. Instead of being able to take time to grieve, I spent the next twelve months fighting a malicious grievance.
Performance feedback on cabin crew is written and delivered during the operating flight. For reasons that will become clear in due course, the feedback that I wrote on Bart, which was not mandatory, was written once I was home.
Although I’ll discuss the grievance investigation and disciplinary meeting in depth later in my story, for now, I want to share the letter that Hayley sent me advising me of the outcome of her investigation.
Crew Manager Lana, who carried out the initial grievance investigation, met with Bart and compiled the questions for the witness statements that were sent to the operating crew. Having decided there was a case to answer, the case was then passed to Hayley, who conducted the disciplinary meeting and investigated whether the grievance should be dismissed or upheld.
The outcome of Hayley’s investigation was emailed to me on September 27th, 2019. The first few lines at the top of six pages had been printed over the paper’s letterhead, so were extremely difficult to read. Some words couldn’t be read at all.
True professionalism from this relatively new Cabin Crew Manager who had been with the airline for less than two years and in her current role for fifteen months.
The head of Cabin Crew, who dealt with my appeal, subsequently told me, “Hayley is a very experienced manager.” This was repeated verbally and in writing several times. As I will demonstrate, Hayley was anything but experienced.
Many months later, in the outcome of my appeal, the Head of Cabin Crew informed me that this was the first disciplinary Hayley had conducted since joining the company. Ironically, in the outcome of Hayley’s investigation, she says, “If you’re a senior employee or a manager, we’ll look to you to lead by example.”
Having been told the disciplinary was being upheld and that I would have a final written warning placed on my file for bullying, harassment, overbearing supervision, and inappropriate touching, I submitted an appeal to my manager on October 1, 2019. It was passed to the Head of Cabin Crew to deal with.
During our meeting three weeks later, I told her I had been off work with debilitating anxiety and depression as a result of having to deal with Bart’s malicious grievance. I asked whether she knew how many men of my age commit suicide each year because of mental health issues, and she confirmed that she did. Although minutes were taken meticulously from the start of this meeting, my comment was omitted. I was accompanied by an experienced Union rep.
Despite the Head of Cabin Crew being fully aware of my situation, just two weeks before this appeal meeting, she asked that a second grievance be raised against me and asked that it be dealt with as a final written warning. It was in response to a complaint she’d received about me from the CEO.
Many months after being made redundant, I learnt that any involvement with a second grievance while investigating the first amounts to a conflict of interest. Employment law states that managers must remain impartial and objective in their dealings with employees. This ensures fairness and avoids any perception of bias (prejudice).
Asking that a completely unrelated matter be dealt with as a grievance while dealing with my appeal in relation to Bart’s grievance is likely to undermine the fairness and credibility of both proceedings.
Having received this complaint from the CEO and knowing she was meeting with me a couple of weeks later, it should have been passed to another senior manager to deal with. Despite receiving extensive support and legal advice from the Union, I was never informed of this.
Regarding the CEO’s complaint, this is what happened. On the company’s online communication platform, Workplace, a commercial version of Facebook, I wrote a post that ended with a tongue-in-cheek comment. Several emojis that followed reiterated the nature of my comment.
There were forty-three employees in this group, which had been classed as ‘secret’ so it could not be seen by other users on the platform. It had been set up for onboard managers operating a new route to Tel Aviv. Other employees invited to join included the manager of the Onboard Service and Delivery department, one of his team, and someone from Inflight Catering. The company’s Chief People Officer and CEO had also joined. Apart from them, I knew everyone quite well, and everyone knew me.
All of the onboard managers in the group had been with the airline for many years and had volunteered to be part of a ‘core crew.’ This meant they would operate the new route for the first few months to monitor the onboard service, highlight any problems, and suggest areas for improvement.
A training day had taken place a few weeks earlier and was a great opportunity for us all to catch up. As cabin crew, and especially as an onboard manager, it’s common to know people for many years but rarely see them. That’s because there’s only one Flight Manager on each flight. I hadn’t seen some of those who volunteered for the Tel Aviv core crew for more than twenty years.
Several days after posting my tongue-in-cheek comment on Workplace, I received a private message from the CEO. He was relatively new in the position and we had never met. In his message, he said, “I presume this was not intentional, but please remove the last paragraph speaking about Jews, I find it completely inappropriate.”
Like me, the CEO is Jewish and has close ties to Israel. A few messages were then exchanged between us, which I’ll share in a later chapter. Despite the intention of my comment being playful and not intended to be taken seriously, it had been completely misunderstood. Needless to say, I was mortified.
Shortly after posting the comment, I had second thoughts and went back to delete it, or at least thought I had, but seemingly, it didn’t delete.
The following screenshot is one of several replies to the CEO’s message. “Core Crew” is the name of the group on Workplace. His name has been redacted.
Having apologised several times for my comment and explained that it was supposed to be humorous, he didn’t bother to respond. Seventeen days later, less than twenty-four hours before the Tel Aviv press launch flight, of which I was a part of the operating crew, I received a call from Cabin Crew Manager Fred. He informed me that I was being removed from the flight and said the Head of Cabin Crew had asked for a grievance investigation to be initiated into my comment and wanted it to be dealt with as a final written warning.
The grievance raised against me by Bart was also being dealt with as a final written warning. The Head of Cabin Crew was hearing my appeal regarding the outcome of that grievance in two weeks.
She was fully aware that I had been off sick due to dealing with Bart’s grievance and, from correspondence exchanged between us in 2014, that I was also dealing with other health issues.
With two final written warnings, I could be dismissed. This was a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CEO was scheduled to travel with other VIPs on the company’s press launch flight to Tel Aviv. I believe that having looked at the list of operating cabin crew the day before departure, he saw my name and only then decided to report my comment. He would have known that it would lead to my removal from the flight.
Being selected to operate a press launch flight is seen as a privilege. I had already operated the ‘inaugural’ flight to Tel Aviv which is the very first departure from the UK. It went several weeks earlier. Furthermore, since apologising for my tongue-in-cheek comment, I had operated two further flights to and from this new destination.
If the CEO genuinely felt it was necessary to report my “inappropriate comment”, why wait seventeen days?
Despite being in the company for almost thirty years and an Onboard Manager for nineteen, I believe he didn’t want to meet me face-to-face. Maybe it was because he felt embarrassed for addressing a silly comment only to then discover I was Jewish. With so few Jewish flying staff in the company, he would not have expected that. Or maybe he felt I didn’t deserve to be on such a prestigious flight.
When I talk more about this incident in a later chapter, I’ll share something that makes what he did even more shocking.
The initial investigation meeting into the CEO’s complaint was held on 29th October 2019 at 9.30 a.m. My appeal meeting with the Head of Cabin Crew for the grievance raised by Bart was at 2 p.m the same day.
Having returned to work less than a year earlier after being off for almost two years with depression and anxiety, I was now dealing with two disciplinary matters, both of which were being dealt with as a final written warning.
The likelihood of losing my job was high. The following comes from the company’s Procedures Manual:
At the start of the appeal meeting, the Head of Cabin Crew informed me that, with this matter having dragged on for so long, she would try to make a decision as quickly as possible. I received the outcome by email two months later. It was five days before Christmas and almost a year since my flight with Bart.
My appeal had been unsuccessful, so a final written warning for bullying, harassment, overbearing supervision and inappropriate touching was to be placed on my file.
In March 2020, the company announced it would be making redundancies in response to cutbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly afterwards, I was told I was being redundant.
I wasn’t chosen for redundancy solely because of the two disciplinaries. In a later chapter, when I discuss this in more detail, I’ll reveal more shocking revelations.
At the start of the appeal meeting, I asked the Head of Cabin Crew if she had reviewed my entire defence or had just read my appeal. She confirmed that she had read everything, which included over six hundred pages of evidence.
By meticulously presenting extracts from witness statements written by the operating cabin crew and using information from Bart’s complaint, I proved that every allegation was a lie. I also proved that Anna, Ven, Mia and Peter had also lied to support Bart.
The most logical step for the Head of Cabin Crew would have been to meet with Bart to question him further and also meet with Anna, Ven, Mia and Peter. She could also have spoken with Lottie, Katrina and Claire, who worked alongside Bart and me in First Class and whose witness statements told a very different story.
During the two months that it took her to carry out her investigation, she spoke to nobody. She simply read through the case and made a judgment based on what she read.
Lana and Hayley, who dealt with the first and second parts of the grievance, could also have questioned the cabin crew about their witness statements, especially given how much they contradicted my version of events. However, they also didn’t speak to anyone.
I really struggled with being given disciplinary because of a malicious grievance raised by a crooked ex-police officer in response to a constructive performance review. The allegation of inappropriate touching, in particular, had a profound effect on my mental health.
Bart and his now-ex-fiancée Anna are pathological liars, yet the company believed their version of events over mine. The days that followed were extremely difficult, I was in a perilous state of depression and felt incredibly self-destructive.
On the 20th of December 2019, the day after receiving the outcome of my appeal from the Head of Cabin Crew, I called in sick. I informed my manager that I wouldn’t be doing my next flight on 24th December. He said he would advise the relevant department, who would then decide how the absence should be recorded. He said he would get back to me shortly.
By late afternoon on the 23rd of December, I hadn’t heard from him and wanted to confirm that I’d been taken off my flight the next morning. Having worked for this company for many years, I knew communication wasn’t their greatest strength.
When I called the department responsible for ensuring that flights have the correct crew complement, I was told they had not been advised to remove me from the trip. According to their records, I was still the operating Flight Manager.
Supporting Employee Mental Health
Christmas 2019 was really tough. It had been twelve months since my flight to Atlanta with Bart, and despite proving the allegations were lies, it had made no difference. The first anniversary of my dad’s death was also approaching. Although ninety-six when he died, which is a great age, the previous nine years had not been easy.
After suddenly losing my mum in 2010, my dad moved in with me, and life changed overnight. Apart from my partner, my dad was my only family. Being a carer yet again had a huge impact on my mental health. Four years later, I experienced what I suppose is called a mental breakdown.
I kept what I was going through from my dad, which made coping even more difficult. Following a serious fall in 2016, his health deteriorated, and not long afterwards, he couldn’t be left alone in the house overnight. He was also struggling with the stairs and certain aspects of personal care.
Although he was initially reluctant, we agreed that the best option was for him to move into residential care. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make.
Once my dad settled in his new home, I managed to return to work. It felt amazing to be back on an aircraft doing the job that I loved. However, the once confident and fun-loving Laurence was a distant memory.
Over the next ten months, I slowly rebuilt my confidence. The past nine years had taken their toll, but finally, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
I carried a significant amount of guilt about moving my dad into residential care, so I visited him every single day when I wasn’t away on a flight. Every Saturday morning, I’d pick him up and bring him back to the house so he could spend the day watching sport, or we’d go out for the day.
On 6th January 2019, he passed away very peacefully. Just three weeks later, I was advised that Bart had filed a grievance against me.
Fighting to clear my name from his disgusting lies decimated my mental health. I had three periods of long-term sick leave and an unpleasant incident on a flight to Miami.
Having called in sick after the Head of Cabin Crew dismissed my appeal, I knew my time in the company was coming to an end. With everything I was dealing with, I had forgotten about the second grievance, but that changed when I received an email from my manager on January 11, 2020.
During the appeal meeting, the Head of Cabin Crew told me she had chosen him carefully because she wanted someone “who could give me all the support that I needed.” Bear in mind that just two weeks earlier, she had asked for the CEO’s complaint to be dealt with as a grievance and as a final written warning.
When we spoke, he asked when I thought I’d be able to return to work. I was very frank and said I wasn’t in a great place at the moment. Later in the call, he asked when I would be able to attend the disciplinary meeting regarding my tongue-in-cheek comment on Workplace. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard and said I was in no position at the moment to be dealing with another grievance. He said the matter wasn’t going to go away, and whilst he could push the meeting back, it would still have to be dealt with.
The following excerpt comes from an interview with the company’s Chief People Officer regarding mental health.
I don’t believe I’ll ever forget how I felt following that conversation and what I went through in the days that followed. In every subsequent email, he said the same thing, “I want to offer you support.” They were meaningless, empty words that looked good on paper.
Here’s the series of emails from the Cabin Crew Manager who dealt with the second part of the grievance regarding the CEO’s complaint. Nine days after receiving this email, the Head of Cabin Crew informed me that my appeal against the grievance raised by Bart had been unsuccessful. The following day, I called in sick for the very last time.
This email was received three days after the call with my manager, during which he asked when I could attend the grievance meeting. This was one of several emails pressuring me to attend.
It was mid-February before I felt able to arrange a date for the disciplinary meeting. I was still on long-term sick leave, and it was a few weeks before the outbreak of Covid-19. Having told my manager I felt ready, he scheduled a telephone appointment with Occupational Health to ensure I was “fit enough to participate.”
The company was going to extraordinary lengths to ensure this matter was dealt with as a grievance. To put this into context, this was over a tongue-in-cheek comment that had been blown out of all proportion. It was not said with malice, and upon learning it had caused offence, I apologised immediately. I also thought I had deleted the comment shortly after posting it, but for some reason, it didn’t delete.
Following two long and difficult conversations with Occupational Health, they agreed that the only way for me to move on was to have this matter dealt with and closed.
Despite the concern for my well-being from this pleasant Cabin Crew Manager, the situation was a complete and utter farce. I was off work struggling with anxiety and depression, fighting suicidal thoughts almost every day, and was now being forced into dealing with yet another disciplinary.
On March 4, 2020, I received a call about my rostered flight the following day. Despite explaining that I was currently on long-term sick leave and had been since December 20, three weeks later, the company was none the wiser.
You’ll notice from the email below that my manager only informed this department that I was on long-term sick (LTS) on 26th March.
On the 8th of April, I received a call from someone I didn’t know and had never spoken to before. He asked whether I would be operating my flight to Tel Aviv the following day. Struggling to comprehend what I’d just been asked, I told him I was on long-term sick leave and had been since December. After a long pause, he said yes, I can see that, but thought you may be returning to work because we don’t have a sick note from you.
He’s talking rubbish, that’s not how things work. When a crew member is on long-term sick leave, no flying duties are assigned to their roster until they call in fit. The company is not able to predict when someone will be returning to work.
My manager had not asked me for a sick note, and to be honest, it was the last thing on my mind. I said I’d get one and would forward it by email as soon as possible.
Three weeks later, I received this email. I called in sick on December 20th, the day after I received the outcome of my appeal from the Head of Cabin Crew.
No confirmation was received, and I didn’t hear another word from this person or anyone else in the company until the 2nd of July. In that email, I was invited to a meeting to appeal the decision to make me redundant.
Having already attended four stressful meetings regarding two unnecessary disciplinaries, as much as I loved my job and didn’t want to lose it, I had no fight left in me and didn’t believe there was any chance of the decision being overturned.
Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth 