Tess De Mello spent three decades working as a member of British Airways’ cabin crew, building a career she viewed as central to her identity. During this time, she emphasized taking pride in her work and consistently going beyond standard expectations to enhance passenger experiences.
In 2020, BA initiated substantial workforce reductions amid economic pressures from the pandemic. The airline issued redundancy notices to nearly all of its 42,000 employees, ultimately resulting in approximately 10,000 job losses. The Unite union, which represents cabin crew, characterized BA’s approach as a fire-and-rehire strategy, noting that staff who retained positions faced significant pay reductions and demotions. MPs at the time criticized the measures as a “national disgrace.”
De Mello was among those not retained. According to her account, when she sought clarification regarding her precise salary under a rehire arrangement and requested time to consider the terms while explicitly stating her desire to remain with the airline, BA treated her request as a decision to leave employment. She subsequently filed an unfair dismissal claim. An employment tribunal judge ruled against her and a co-claimant in the preceding year, though both are pursuing an appeal.
Beyond the dismissal claim, the workers are also challenging underpayment of holiday entitlements from their period as part-time employees. Their legal representatives argue that the scheduling pattern typical for cabin crew—blocks of full working days alternating with blocks of days off—classifies workers as “part-year” rather than part-time, entitling them to full-time holiday provisions based on a 2022 supreme court decision. If successful, the case could establish precedent affecting numerous cabin crew members across the aviation sector.
BA stated that an employment tribunal in 2025 dismissed the claimants’ initial claims, finding the airline’s pandemic-related actions to be non-discriminatory and fair. The airline maintains that the current claims lack merit and intends to communicate this position to the tribunal.
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