An easyJet cabin crew manager who indulged in ‘flirty banter’ has lost his case for unfair dismissal and sexual orientation discrimination.
Ross Barr, a heterosexual man, referred to colleagues as “lovely ladies” and “my more attractive colleague”, the tribunal heard. On one occasion, he was accused of brushing past a colleague and saying “Oh, I have just brushed past your boobs”.
He claimed he had been discriminated against because he could “not make the same comments as a gay colleague”.
Barr started working as cabin crew in April 2014 and began a permanent contract with the airline in 2017, based in Edinburgh.
Following a complaint about his conduct during a flight in August 2022, he was invited to a disciplinary hearing. He was then issued with a final written warning.
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The sanction included in the final written warning was “to allow you the opportunity to consider your behaviour and how it impacted your colleagues, and going forward to behave in an appropriate manner to ensure that your conduct is aligned with Easyjet’s expectations”.
Barr was told the warning would be kept on record but disregarded for disciplinary purposes after 12 months.
In December 2023, a “speak up, speak out” complaint was lodged against him, alleging that he had made a colleague feel uncomfortable.
The colleague complained that he made sexual and disrespectful remarks to passengers, including homophobic and transphobic comments.
In July 2024, a customer made a complaint alleging that Barr had walked down the cabin aisle behind a female colleague and said loudly, in front of passengers: “I’m not doing anything. I’m just staring at your ass.”
At a meeting to discuss the incident, he claimed that he could not remember the comment, adding that he got on better with some crew members and could have “banter” with them. He was suspended.
Investigating the complaint, it emerged that some colleagues found his working approach “not by the book” and that his public announcements on flights were “very different”.
He referred to female cabin crew as “lovely ladies” over the tannoy, and often called passengers “young man” or “young lady”. When serving hot drinks, he would offer customers “cow juice” rather than milk, which easyJet warned him was “not the type of comment to be making” in a professional environment.
Barr was invited to a disciplinary hearing in September 2024, where he was informed he would be dismissed for gross misconduct.
The letter informing him of the outcome stated: “Whilst you have asked for support, I do not believe you have shown full remorse for your actions and you have failed to acknowledge the seriousness of where your behaviour has fallen below standard.”
He appealed, and sent the manager who was conducting the hearing examples of positive social media comments relating to his performance on flights.
He made a number of allegations in his appeal about the disciplinary process, including that a manager had prioritised annual leave over dealing with his case, and that his confidentiality had been breached. easyJet refuted all of them.
Employment Judge Muriel Robison agreed that Barr’s behaviour had demonstrated a failure to “uphold the values and principles” of the company, and that his dismissal had been a reasonable response.
She ruled that he was not less favourably treated because of his sexual orientation, adding: “I concluded that the claimant had not established less favourable treatment, or indeed in any event that the reason why he was dismissed was because of his sexual orientation, there being another clear reason for dismissal.”
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