Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Employee relationsIndustrial action / strikesTrade unionsEmployment tribunals

British Airways cabin crew to appeal High Court ruling rejecting injunction against staff changes

by Kat Baker 14 Jun 2010
by Kat Baker 14 Jun 2010

British Airways (BA) cabin crew will appeal a High Court ruling that rejected their call for an injunction and found the airline could legally reduce the number of staff onboard flights, Personnel Today has learned.

If the cabin crew succeed at the Court of Appeal hearing, which will take place in October, the court could impose an injunction on BA forcing it to reinstate the original level of cabin staff on all flights.

John Read, employment law editor at XpertHR, warned a successful appeal by the cabin crew “would be a disaster for BA”.

In November, BA reduced the number of cabin crew onboard each plane below a minimum set out in collective agreements between the airline and the unions.

Cabin crew representatives then took the airline to the High Court in February seeking an injunction against the imposed changes, claiming the collective agreements were incorporated into individual contracts of employment so the changes could only be made with agreement from staff.

But the judge ruled against the cabin crew and found BA could legally make the changes as the relevant terms in the collective agreements were not incorporated into individual employment contracts.

John Hendy QC, who will represent the cabin crew at the Court of Appeal, will argue that thousands of cabin crew are “suffering a material prejudicial impact on their working conditions” which had forced them to work harder and become more stressed, so “there was no reason for the Learned Judge to be unwilling to grant an injunction”.

He will add: “In the absence of an injunction (or any equivalent undertaking to the court from BA), these breaches will simply continue ad infinitum, with the appellants accruing fresh causes of action on a continuous basis, in respect of loss which is (directly) non-pecuniary in nature.”

Read said the BA cabin crew “clearly have a chance of succeeding on appeal” and the case would enable them to add pressure to their dispute with the airline.

“Whether or not a collectively-agreed term is incorporated into employees’ contracts is not straightforward, and the cabin crew clearly have a chance of succeeding on appeal – it’s very unlikely the appeal would go ahead if they didn’t,” he said.

“However, the appeal is another means of the cabin crew putting pressure on BA to resolve the ongoing dispute. If the appeal succeeds and the Court of Appeal grants an injunction – which has to be a possibility given that the cabin crews’ loss is non-pecuniary, being harder work and increased stress – it would be a disaster for BA, which has been operating the reduced crew complements for some time now. BA will be desperate to avoid that happening.”

BA refused to comment on the case.

Avatar
Kat Baker

previous post
RBS HR chief Neil Roden resigns now bank is ‘stable’ again
next post
Graduates choose interesting jobs over salary reveals Real Prospects

You may also like

Who is on strike and when?

9 Jun 2023

GMB withdraws Amazon union recognition bid

9 Jun 2023

Police Federation discriminated against officers bringing pension claim

8 Jun 2023

Unions to scrutinise new civil service pay offer

2 Jun 2023

University staff in further strikes over pay docking

2 Jun 2023

Employers face three days of disruption as train...

31 May 2023

Virgin Media O2 pay deal agreed with union

30 May 2023

Examiner was worker, not self-employed, finds tribunal

30 May 2023

Strikes: Documentary gains access inside the unions

25 May 2023

Coca-Cola workers to strike at UK soft drinks...

25 May 2023

  • The HR Bundle: Your one-stop guide to building a successful global HR Department PROMOTED | Get your hands on Deel’s free HR bundle...Read more
  • The Benefits of an Employee Assistance Programme PROMOTED | EAPs support employees in a range of ways...Read more
  • Intergenerational working and how to manage up and down the generations PROMOTED | The benefits and challenges of intergenerational workplaces...Read more
  • Bereavement in the workplace: How training can help HR get it right PROMOTED | HR professionals play an essential role...Read more
  • UK workforce mental wellbeing needs PROMOTED | The mental wellbeing support employers are providing misses the mark...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+