| Table of Contents Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth Part 3 Page 1 – The Head of Cabin Crew Page 2 – Employing a Sociopath Page 3 – The Day Life Changed Page 4 – Shalom Tel Aviv Page 5 – Post Flight Customer Feedback Page 6 – Cue Second Disciplinary Page 7 – Outcome of the Grievance Page 8 – Yee Haw The Last Page! Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth Part 5 |
Shalom Tel Aviv
In 2019, the airline announced a new route to Tel Aviv. It was an unusual destination for the company but one I couldn’t have been more excited about. For the first few months, a dedicated ‘Core Crew’ of Onboard Managers, comprised solely of Pursers and Flight Managers, would operate the route. However, the Cabin Crew would be rostered for the flight as usual without being part of this dedicated group.
Having a small group of onboard managers operating this route would make it easier to address teething problems and other issues that may arise. In May 2019, onboard managers who were interested in being part of the Core Crew were invited to apply. We were told that ‘performance’ would be a key factor when selecting applicants, with those with higher performance scores being given preference over those with lower scores.
There was a large response, so I was incredibly excited to learn a short while later that I had been accepted. Less than a year later, I was told that part of the reason I was being made redundant was that my performance was below average.
My company-issued performance scorecard showed that in December 2018, I was well above average, yet from April 1, 2019, to March 30, 2020, which was the period used to assess performance after redundancies were announced, my performance had allegedly dropped so significantly that I was now an underperforming employee.
During 2019, I had three lengthy periods of sick leave because I was dealing with Bart’s malicious grievance and never returned to work after calling in sick in December 2020. So, after thirty years with this company, during which I had a proven track record of being a high-performing employee, my future was decided based on a period of eight months during which I was absent for at least two months, possibly longer. In May, I was selected for the Tel Aviv Core Crew, which demonstrated that, at that time, my performance was still above average.
The company’s new route to Tel Aviv was scheduled to begin in September 2019. We were informed that they wanted to make the entire customer journey a unique experience from start to finish and believed the way to achieve that would be to ensure that all flying staff had a basic understanding of Jewish culture and traditions.
A training day was organised for Flight Managers and Pursers who were part of the Tel Aviv Core Crew. The following image comes from a video for the launch of the route (it’s clickable).
Very few flying staff in this airline were Jewish, and there were only about ten Jewish onboard managers, including me. Of those who volunteered to be part of the core crew, only five were Jewish.
Considering the day was being held in a small London suburb, I was surprised that uniform was a requirement.
Soon after the course began, we were informed that after lunch, we would visit a Jewish cultural centre for a talk from a Rabbi. We would then be given a guided tour of a kosher supermarket in Golders Green. I now understood why we had been asked to wear uniform.
Golders Green has one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK. It has many kosher eating establishments, synagogues, and Jewish schools. North West London, which incorporates Hendon and Golders Green. I grew up in Edgware, which is close by, and still live there today.
This article was published by the Jewish Chronicle newspaper following our visit.
Before the route began, I compiled some information of my own to share with the cabin crew on my flights. I thought they might find it interesting and would also give them a basic understanding of Jewish people and culture. I included answers to some of the most common questions that I’d been asked by non-Jewish cabin crew members over many years. The information filled both sides of an A4 sheet of paper. In one section, I focused on ultra-Orthodox people, explaining their practices and how best to accommodate them on the aircraft.
I closed with some great places to visit in Israel and included common Hebrew greetings. At the bottom of the page, I included an image from a respected online reference that explained what many believe to be the roots of antisemitism.
I’d known the person responsible for writing the introductory brief for the business for this new route to Tel Aviv for many years. Since she is not Jewish, I sent her a copy. I also sent copies to a few other people in the office, including a Senior Manager, to make sure I wasn’t breaking any rules.
In a post on the company’s internal communications platform, I said if any Flight Managers who were not on the core crew would like a copy, I’d be happy to email it to them. I thought they might find it useful, especially if they found themselves on a Tel Aviv flight, which was a possibility if they happened to be called from a standby duty.
A few days later, I received a copy of the company’s “Welcome to Israel” brief from the person who had written it. It had not yet been published. My reply is below.
In light of the second disciplinary related to the CEO’s complaint about my tongue-in-cheek comment, I feel it’s important to highlight how much of my free time I gave to sharing my knowledge about Jewish people and culture. My only reason for doing so was to help get this new route off to a great start.
When our September flying roster was published, I couldn’t have been happier to discover that I was the Flight Manager on the first service to Tel Aviv. This demonstrates that in September 2019, I was still a high-performing manager. Had that not been the case, I do not believe the company would have given me this opportunity, especially with there being members of the P.R. team onboard and Israeli press.
Although I have always been able to read and speak Hebrew, my conversational skills were far more limited. Since the announcement of the new route to Tel Aviv, I had been studying to enable me to make announcements in Hebrew and to converse with Hebrew-speaking passengers.
Although the first flight was September 2019, it wasn’t the official press launch flight, that was planned for the following month. The first departure coincided with the Jewish New Year so all flights were full.
During the Pre-Flight Briefing I received a message asking me to look after an influential blogger and friend of the CEO.
I took this next photo during our Pre-Flight Briefing. I was sitting at the end of the table closest to the camera. In front of me, just to the left, you can see a sheet of paper with the information I mentioned earlier. I had my kippa (skull cap) with me because the following day was an important holy day, and I was going to attend a religious service. It was on the table because I explained to the crew what it was, why it’s worn, and why some men wear it all the time.
With it being the first flight to a new destination, there was a great deal of excitement onboard and the flight was really busy, particularly in First Class. The cabin crew did an amazing job in all three cabins, often under very difficult circumstances. After the lunch service, I made an announcement that I repeated in Hebrew, advising men that if they wanted to say after-dinner prayers, they could do so in the galley at the back of Economy. I drew the curtains for additional privacy and ensured they weren’t disturbed.
The photos were taken by a passenger, who then shared them online. Once prayers had finished, several of the men in this photo thanked me for allowing them to use the galley and said the flight had been excellent. In typical Jewish style, some also offered suggestions on how some aspects of the service/catering could be enhanced to improve the onboard experience for Jewish customers.
Our rest time in Israel was 24 hours. The following day, we left the hotel for our return flight at 04:30. Although the return flight was busy, it was nothing like the outbound sector. I was looking forward to getting home to tell my partner about the trip.
I was happy with how both flights had gone. From comments from customers as they disembarked on both sectors, it was apparent that everyone had enjoyed their flight. With everything I had been dealing with in recent months, it was a much-needed boost for my morale.
Just two weeks earlier, I’d had the dreadful experience on the flight to Miami that ended with me being taken to hospital.
The following screenshot comes from a message posted on a private group set up on the company’s internal communications platform, Workplace. It was created to enable the crew from the first flight to share photos. The person who posted this comment was a Cabin Crew trainer based in the office. He was also a Flight Manager, but on this flight was working down as ‘Cabin Crew’. Upon joining the airline in 1990, we trained together.
The name of the Purser who worked in Economy has been redacted. On this type of aircraft, there was only one Purser. They manage the services and lead the team in Economy, while the Flight Manager is in charge of the flight and manages services in First Class.
The photo on the right was taken upon arrival at our hotel. The hotel management had laid on a small buffet with traditional Israeli snacks, biscuits, cakes, and champagne to welcome us to Israel.
I learned of Bart’s grievance in early March 2019. The first disciplinary meeting took place on April 9th, and the second was on August 15th. It was now the end of September, and I was still waiting for the outcome of the investigation carried out by Cabin Crew Manager Hayley.
A week before my flight to Tel Aviv, I sent her an email to ask that she be mindful of when she advised me of the outcome. I didn’t want to receive it while away on a trip or before operating a flight, unless of course, the grievance was being dropped. In her response, she said, “In terms of the outcome letter, I am always mindful of flying duties and intend to send the outcome by email after I have reviewed your roster.”
While driving home after landing from Tel Aviv my head was buzzing from all the excitement. I’d gone to bed late and woke up very early. The last three days had been brilliant. Once home, I put the kettle on, made some toast, and was about to start telling my partner about the trip. I then received an email which I opened and found myself reading the outcome of the grievance investigation sent to me by Hayley. So much for reviewing my roster before sending the email!
All allegations, including one that had already been dismissed during the first investigation, had been upheld. Sending a crew member the outcome of a disciplinary investigation on ‘landing day’ is reckless and irresponsible. I explained the significance of ‘landing day’ in the last chapter. Here’s what I wrote:
Although the flight from Tel Aviv was short and the time difference was only two hours, I’d been on a high for the last three days, so hadn’t slept well. I was extremely tired and in no state of mind to learn that malicious allegations made by a crooked ex-police officer who had been in the company for just eleven months were being upheld.
Having read through her investigation, my mood changed immediately, and I felt complete and utter despair. It was a very, very dark moment. I went to bed with terrible thoughts going around in my head, but thankfully, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep. Had I come home to an empty house, which I often did, I genuinely believe things would have been very different.
The following extract is from documentation that I used in my appeal to the Head of the Cabin Crew.
I received the outcome of Hayley’s investigation by email less than one hour after arriving home from my flight from Tel Aviv. I was exhausted and emotionally drained. Hayley is clearly completely out of touch about when is a good time to send someone the outcome of a disciplinary, especially when it’s not positive. Landing day is certainly not the time to do that.
Being given the opportunity to be the Flight Manager on the first flight to Tel Aviv made me feel exceptionally proud. Being Jewish, Israel has always held a very special place in my heart, but I have not been for many years. The excitement was overwhelming, and I counted the days until that first flight from the time I received my roster.
It wasn’t just about going to Israel, it was being the Flight Manager on the first flight, especially since it was my thirtieth year in the company. The experience from start to finish was amazing and it was one of the most exciting and proud days of my life for so many reasons. Despite all of the challenges that arose, I loved every second of my time on the aircraft and in Israel.
As you’ll be aware, customer feedback following both sectors of the flight was outstanding, and an influential blogger who travelled with us could not speak highly enough about the experience. By the time I arrived home, I was brimming with pride and was on a complete high with all the excitement of the last three days. I was drained and exhausted due to not having slept well the night before the outbound flight and because of the exceptionally early wake-up for the return sector. Within an hour of arriving home, Hayley’s email arrived.
The last two days were the Jewish New Year, and this happy holiday ended with me being informed that a malicious grievance raised by a dishonest, narcissistic ex-police officer, who has been with the company for just eleven months, has been upheld.
This comes from another section of the same document.
I find the matter regarding the time that I sent Bart his performance feedback completely hypocritical, considering that Hayley sent me the outcome of her investigation just three hours after I touched down at Heathrow after the company’s first flight to Tel Aviv. I sent Bart his review more than fifty hours after our flight. Hayley then has the audacity to uphold a complaint against me because she states I have not been considerate when sending a performance review to a crew member because he may not be rested, in a good place or feeling fresh when he opens it.
More importantly, she sent me the result of her investigation in the knowledge that I have found this matter extremely difficult to deal with, have had extensive time off sick, and knew the outcome would not be well received. She was also well aware that I have struggled with mental health issues as a direct result of dealing with this complaint. Despite all of that, she gave no consideration at all as to when she sent her email.
The following screenshot comes from the outcome of my appeal. The next one comes from the grievance I raised against the company for the way the Head of Cabin Crew dealt with it.
Regarding the outcome of Hayley’s investigation being sent shortly after I landed from a flight, the Head of Cabin Crew apologises for any “unnecessary distress it may have caused”.
Ironically, despite being told that I had not given due consideration as to whether Bart “may be rested or in a good place when he read my review”, even though it was sent more than twenty-four hours after our flight, and this complaint being upheld by all three managers involved in this grievance, I received Hayley’s outcome within three hours of landing from a flight, despite asking that she be considerate about when it was sent.
Her half-hearted apology was utterly pathetic. I’d waited six weeks for the outcome of this investigation, yet she claimed Hayley was conscious of how long the process had taken and wanted to ensure I didn’t wait any longer. Another twenty-four hours would not have made any difference. Throughout her investigation, she told me Hayley was a very experienced manager. So experienced that multiple lines of text in the outcome of the investigation were obscured by the letterhead of the paper. She had no idea what she was doing during the grievance meeting and was being openly guided by the Employee Relations Consultant. She didn’t add a hard copy of evidence that she received from me by WhatsApp to the case notes, upheld a complaint from Bart that had already been dismissed by the first manager who investigated the case, and then sent me the outcome of her investigation within an hour of me arriving home after a flight.
According to her LinkedIn profile, the first time Hayley became a ‘manager’ was in 2008 at her previous airline. Upon leaving in 2017 to join this company, she initially worked in a non-management position. She then joined the Cabin Crew Management team in June 2018. So, by the time she dealt with Bart’s grievance, her total managerial experience was ten years.
Her profile says nothing about her dealing with disciplinary matters before becoming a Cabin Crew Manager. Therefore, I believe my grievance wasn’t just her first disciplinary meeting in this company but the first disciplinary meeting she had ever dealt with during her entire career.
I joined the airline in 1990. In 1996, I was promoted to Purser, which is an onboard managerial position, and to Flight Manager in 2001. Hayley repeatedly received credit for being “a very experienced manager,” while I received no credit or leniency at all. I was an onboard manager for twenty-five years.
This next extract comes from my appeal.
Soon after the meeting began, it was clear that Hayley had no experience dealing with disciplinary matters. Pedro (the Employee Relations Consultant) was openly guiding her, and at one point even said, “I’m trying to guide Hayley.”
The sudden call for an adjournment after such a short period of time surprised me and Liz (Union rep) and as we left the room I said, “she has no idea what she’s doing” and Liz agreed. Considering the nature of this case, I really would have expected it to have been dealt with by someone with experience in dealing with disciplinary matters. Hayley’s inexperience will be further highlighted as I respond to each of her points.
And the Head of Cabin Crew’s response:
Pedro was also present during the first grievance investigation meeting with Cabin Crew Manager Lana. He didn’t “guide her on the airline’s process” at any time but instead questioned me extensively regarding Bart’s allegations.
During the appeal meeting with the Head of Cabin Crew and during my subsequent two meetings regarding the second disciplinary matter, the Employee Relations Consultants only spoke to clarify something that had been said. Their minutes of the meetings were clear and concise, whereas Pedro’s were difficult to understand and littered with mistakes.
The primary purpose of the person taking minutes in a meeting is to listen and take notes that accurately reflect what is being discussed. They should not actively participate in the discussions or interrogate the person whose grievance meeting it is. That responsibility lies with the hearing manager, who was Cabin Crew Manager Lana at the first meeting and Hayely at the second.
It was not my “perception” and the perception of the experienced Union rep who accompanied me that Pedro was leading the meeting. He was leading the meeting and guiding Hayley because she didn’t have a clue what she was doing.
Being Cabin Crew | The Ugly Truth 