Air stewardess wins sexual discrimination case after Flybe bosses refused to her do fixed hours after she had a baby
Airline said new mum must be able to do any set of 11 days a month at short notice
AN air stewardess has won a landmark sexual discrimination case against her employer - because they refused to let her come back on fixed hours after she had a baby.
Flybe cabin crew manager Emma Seville, 44, previously worked full-time on flexible working hours, which meant she could work any 22 days in a month.
But after giving birth to her son Ted in August last year, she applied to return to work part-time when her nine months of maternity leave ended earlier this year.
Emma asked to come back on a fixed, prearranged 11 days a month so she could organise childcare for her son.
But Flybe bosses rejected her request and told her she could only come back if she worked any given 11 days a month.
She said she'd had problems trying to find nurseries to look after her baby because of the unusual working hours.
The new mum was forced to take the battle to a tribunal where she claimed her employment arrangements put female workers at a disadvantage compared to male employees.
Emma, of Birmingham, said: "They point-blank refused.
"They told me that a significant part of the workforce was already on fixed hours and they couldn't get any more people in that pot because it would have a detrimental effect on the business.
"I was feeling desperate. It was a very difficult time.
"You would be waiting for the rotas, anxiously holding your breath to see what you would be getting."
Emma appealed the decision internally with Flybe, where she has worked for 13 years, but again was told she could only go back on a flexible rota.
She added: "My only option was to go to a tribunal.
"I felt let down. I felt I had given 13 years' service. My individual situation and my loyalty were not taken into consideration."
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The hearing was regarded as a "test case" with the possibility of the flexible scheme being adapted by women cabin crew members of other airlines in future.
On Monday, judge Lynne Findlay found in Emma's favour and agreed she had been discriminated against following a three-day hearing at Birmingham Employment Tribunal.
The judge described the mum as "enthusiastic" and said that that cabin crew work was dominated by women mainly of child-bearing age.
Emma and her bosses will now have six weeks to come to an agreement on her new working hours.
The tribunal judge said if they failed to agree in that time she would decide what amount to award at another hearing.
Emma added: "I was absolutely ecstatic and delighted but not just for me. It's a great victory for the whole workforce.
"I was the first person to bring this to a tribunal. It has been 12 months of hell but I knew it was absolutely the right thing to do."
Emma won her claim for sexual discrimination against Flybe but lost her other legal claim for flexible working hours against the airline giant.
Flybe had rejected Emma request for flexible working hours and opposed both legal claims at the tribunal.
They told the tribunal her request for flexible hours had been fully considered but that it could cause problems.
They also said the airline had a fixed rota system and that shifts could be swapped.
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