Key facts
- Tess De Mello lost her job of 30 years with British Airways in 2020 during pandemic-related layoffs.
- De Mello stated she felt shame and that colleagues would judge her for losing her job.
- BA told its longest-serving cabin crew they should expect a 20% basic pay cut to be retained.
- De Mello was told she would be treated as if she had decided to leave after asking for clarification on her salary and time to consider.
- An employment tribunal dismissed De Mello's unfair dismissal claim last year.
- De Mello and a former colleague are appealing the ruling and claiming underpayment of holiday entitlement for part-time workers.
Tess De Mello, a former member of British Airways’ cabin crew, has spoken of the shame she felt after losing her job of 30 years during pandemic-related layoffs. BA issued redundancy notices to nearly all of its 42,000 staff in 2020, with 10,000 ultimately losing their positions.
De Mello described her role as more than just employment, stating she took pride in her work and feared colleagues would judge her for being among those not kept on. She was concerned they would assume her performance had been poor, despite her assertion that she was always on top of things.
British Airways had informed its longest-serving cabin crew that they should expect a 20% basic pay cut to remain with the airline. According to the Unite union, salaries dropped by between 15% and 35%. When De Mello sought clarification on her exact salary upon potential rehiring and requested time to consider the offer, she was informed she would be treated as if she had resigned, according to court documents.
De Mello and a former colleague subsequently filed an unfair dismissal claim against BA. Judge Laurie Anstis ruled against them at an employment tribunal in Reading last year. They are now appealing this decision.
In addition to the unfair dismissal claim, they are also seeking to recover underpaid holiday entitlement from their time as part-time workers for BA. Their legal team argues that their shift patterns, which involved blocks of full days followed by days off, should classify them as "part-year" workers, similar to teachers, entitling them to full-time holiday pay. This argument is based on a 2022 Supreme Court ruling concerning part-year workers' holiday entitlements.
If De Mello and her colleague are successful, the ruling could have significant financial implications for airlines across the aviation sector, as this type of shift pattern is reportedly common industry-wide. British Airways stated that the employment tribunal found its actions to be non-discriminatory and fair, and believes the current claims are without merit.