A 42-year-old air steward has won £6,500 in an age discrimination case after she was sacked - for not having been in her job long enough.
Karen Irving had worked for travel company TUI for more than 20 years when she was made redundant as a result of cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
An employment tribunal heard the main criteria used to select staff who were to lose their jobs was length of service - so colleagues aged over 45 were kept on.
READ MORE: Glasgow cleaner unfairly sacked over fake claim she wanted to have sex with her boss
Mrs Irving described herself at the hearing as an 'inbetweener' as she benefited from neither the company's policies towards older staff nor those that helped younger employees.
She said the older colleagues all had at least 25 years' service which she could never have achieved at her age.
Now, she has successfully sued TUI for indirect age discrimination and unfair dismissal and won £6,594 after taking the airline to the tribunal and representing herself.
The Glasgow hearing was told that Mrs Irving, based at TUI in the city had over 20 years service before she was fired in October 2021.
The tribunal heard that TUI typically operated over winter months with surplus staffing but following the Covid-19 pandemic it began looking at reducing costs.
In June 2021, all cabin crew staff were informed that a formal redundancy process was due to begin.
Across five of its UK bases, 242 TUI cabin managers and cabin crew were pooled for redundancy, with 37 of those being based at Glasgow.
Mrs Irving was selected for redundancy in September 2021 but immediately pointed out she was being discriminated against on grounds of age.
A tribunal report said: "During the course of the meeting, she stated that she felt discriminated against on the grounds of age given that the reliance on length of service meant that she could never be safe from redundancy and that all those who were safe were over the age of 45."
Dave McCabe, People and Performance Manager, told Mrs Irving TUI also factored in attendance records and sanctions as well as length of service when deciding who to make redundant.
However, the tribunal found that length of service was the 'sole' factor.
The report added: "Mrs Irving gave evidence to the tribunal, which was not challenged and which was accepted, that none of the employees in the pool at Glasgow had been scored down for live sanctions and none had met the attendance triggers meaning that length of service was the sole criterion which had any bearing on the selection."
Mrs Irving, who had taken on important administration duties and was on charge of the office key after TUI got rid of its base manager, submitted a grievance but TUI rejected it and she was made redundant on October 31, 2021.
Mrs Irving, who received an enhanced grievance package of £19,896, brought tribunal claims this year and represented herself legally at a four-day trial.
She claimed she was not senior enough to be safe from redundancy and could not take up a 'Permanent Part Year' role, a contract popular with younger staff which means working principally in summer and only in winter when there is availability.
The tribunal report said: "Her concerns [were] over the selection criteria and the de facto reliance on length of service.
"She highlighted the fact that all those safe at Glasgow had more than 25 years service which is a level she could not have met given her age.
"In relation to the selection criteria, she described herself as being one of the 'inbetweeners' in that she was not senior enough to avoid redundancy and was not in a position to take a Permanent Part Year role like many younger employees.
"She found the whole redundancy process to be very stressful creating a lot of uncertainty.
"She was particularly aggrieved at TUI's approach to length of service and its failure to address her concerns. She felt that Glasgow was somewhat abandoned given the lack of onsite management."
Employment Judge Ronald Mackay concluded: "[The criteria] was applied equally to all and the tribunal was satisfied that it put those, like Mrs Irving, who were under 45 at a particular disadvantage.
"She gave unchallenged evidence that all of those retained in Glasgow were over the age of 45 with service of at least 25 years.
"The tribunal accepted that given her age, she could not have accrued length of service such as to have been successful in retaining her job.
"It was a consistent feature of the evidence of TUI's witnesses that length of service was a criterion to be used as a tiebreaker.
"They appeared to close their mind to the fact that by using two other criteria which had little or no bearing on the selection, length of service became the sole or predominant factor."
It was heard Mrs Irving no longer wishes to work in the airline industry following the ordeal.
Judge Mackay added: "It was clear to the tribunal that the redundancy process and the manner in which it was conducted created distress and anxiety for her."
Mrs Irving won claims of indirect age discrimination, unfair dismissal, and breach of contract.
READ NEXT:
IT expert with sick stash of child and animal abuse images sparks security fears
Glasgow one of the worst hit places in UK by cost of food crisis
Glasgow teenager may never return to school after she is 'beaten unconscious’
Rangers captain James Tavernier stopped in his Porsche and given ASBO danger drive trial hears
Glasgow rats filmed 'leaping' from bin lorries amid infestation warning
