| Table of Contents Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth Part 1 Page 1 – Retaliation, Making it Personal Page 2 – Performance Management System Page 2 – My Performance Management Record Page 2 – Combining the Rank of Junior and Senior Page 2 – Completing Onboard Appraisals Page 3 – The Early Days at the Airline Page 4 – More of the Good Old Days Page 4 – Cabin Crew Life Downroute Page 4 – Pre-Flight Safety Briefings Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth Part 3 |
Retaliation, Making it Personal
The cabin crew line managers dealing with the grievance raised against me by ex police officer now cabin crew member Bart showed no interest in establishing whether he was telling the truth.
The documentation included in the outcome of the investigation carried out by crew manager Lana enabled me to see all correspondence associated with Bart’s complaint. That included minutes from his one and only meeting with the her.
At no time was he advised verbally or in writing should it be discovered he has made false or baseless claims he could face disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. That’s surprising considering the Employee Relations Consultant who was present during the meeting is (according to his LinkedIn profile) a solicitor in employment law.
The following screenshot comes from those minutes. The Employee Relations Consultant is present to ensure company procedures are followed and to take minutes. The meeting is conducted by a cabin crew line manager who in this instance was Lana.
Regarding Bart not being happy with the way his ‘performance management’ was delivered to his manager, I sent her a copy which is company procedure and always has been.
All cabin crew training manuals state an employee’s manager must be copied in on any performance management that’s written. Bear in mind Bart was still in probation having only been flying for eleven months.
With all allegations against me being upheld I filed an appeal. It was dealt with by the Head of Cabin Crew.
This was an opportunity for her not only to look again at all of the evidence but to also investigate what I had been stating from the start, that Bart and five members of crew one of whom was his fiancee were lying.
At the start of the appeal meeting the Head of Cabin Crew said because this matter had been going on for so long she would try to deal with it as quickly as possible. I asked whether she had just read my appeal or the entire case. It was made up of more than five hundred pages of evidence. She said she had read the entire case.
It took her eight weeks to reach an outcome. During that time she didn’t speak to Bart or any of the crew on the flight.
As part of my evidence I made reference to a WhatsApp conversation that I’d had with a friend/colleague following the flight. I sent the conversation as a screenshot to crew manager Hayley via her work WhatsApp account.
Hayley didn’t add a copy to the case notes. I’d also sent her a photograph of the hotel corridor. That hadn’t been added to the file either.
Despite making reference to both pieces of evidence multiple times in my appeal, the Head of Cabin Crew didn’t ask to see them. Bear in mind I had forgotten to include copies with my appeal.
The following is a screenshot from an email I sent to her regarding this matter;
Prior to doing my ‘return to work’ course after being off for almost two years in 2016 I had to be cleared by Occupational Health. As well as wanting to talk about my mental health they also wanted me to have a hearing test. That’s because whilst off I had developed tinnitus.
Despite having worked for the airline for almost thirty years, when I arrived at the training base for the first day of my course I was terrified. It had been a long time since I’d socialised with anyone and was no longer the bubbly, confident and outgoing person I once was.
I wore a dark business suit and whilst waiting for the day to begin sat in the corner watching apprehensively at everything going on around me. I really wasn’t convinced I would get through the course.
Driving out the car park three weeks later was an amazing feeling. I couldn’t wait to get back on an aircraft.
Nine months later to be accused of bullying, harassment, overbearing supervision and inappropriate touching by a bunch of ignorant misfits set me back enormously.
Their poisonous lies took me on a journey so dark I don’t believe I’ll ever fully recover.
Throughout the investigation I struggled to understand why there was such determination for this grievance to be upheld. Proving Bart and his accomplices were lying took over my life and became an obsession.
Once I put on my uniform no matter how I felt, I was representing the company. I always tried to do that to the best of my ability.
In my role as a Flight Manager I was responsible for ensuring safety procedures were followed and to lead, motivate and develop a team of cabin crew. From performance appraisals I received from those working alongside me I clearly did a pretty good job.
Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth 