Employment Article
Hong Kong Based Cabin Crew can Claim Race and Age Discrimination Against British Airways
For those of our clients who have internationally based employees in any country, the following decision of the Court of Appeal is worth noting.
The case is British Airways Plc v Mak in which the Court of Appeal agreed that the Employment Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the race and age discrimination claims of cabin crew working on flights between London and Hong Kong.
The cabin crew had all been recruited by British Airways in Hong Kong and were Chinese citizens, ordinarily resident there. They were compulsorily retired at 45. Other international cabin crew staff working from the UK are not forced to retire pursuant to the Age Regulations. The cabin crew based in Hong Kong brought age and race discrimination claims in the UK.
British Airways argued that the Claimants' work was done in Hong Kong and therefore the Tribunal should not have any jurisdiction. However, the Tribunal found that as the Claimants worked "partly in Great Britain" their employment should be regarded as being "at an establishment in Great Britain" which would bring them within the ambit of the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The Tribunal found this despite the fact that only about 5% of the Claimants working time was in the UK. Despite this, the Tribunal was satisfied that the Claimants' work in the UK was not "trivial or trifling".
British Airways appealed and the Court of Appeal upheld the original finding of the Employment Tribunal.
The case is interesting in that it shows that an employee with only the most tenuous connection to a UK work base could still be regarded as being covered by the UK's anti-discrimination legislation.
For more information on the above or for advice on any other employment issue please contact our employment department on 020 7354 3000 or e-mail employment@colmancoyle.com
Author Profile: David Malamatenios
Date published: 23rd March 2011