Miss J Tyler v Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited — 2025

The claimant remained employed by the respondent and brought claims arising mainly from a disciplinary appeal process following a final written warning connected with her failure to provide or consent to release GP information, or undertake a further medical assessment, for CAA regulatory medical attestation. The tribunal identified three factual allegations underlying the whistleblowing detriment, direct disability discrimination, harassment and victimisation claims: holding an appeal hearing rather than a back to work chat, asking about why medical records had not been shared, and not listening to the claimant's answers.

The tribunal rejected the allegation that the appeal officer did not listen. It found that an appeal hearing was held because the claimant had appealed the disciplinary sanction, and that questions about medical information were asked because those matters formed the basis of the final written warning and were relevant to the appeal. It found no unreasonable repetition of questions and described the appeal officer's approach as involving reasonable and thorough enquiries.

For whistleblowing, the tribunal found that the 11 November 2020 email did not contain the pleaded disclosure about PPE being ineffective and non-sterile. For the Equality Act claims, the tribunal found the claimant had not shown that Fragile X had substantial adverse effects on normal day-to-day activities at the relevant time, and therefore had not shown disability under s6 Equality Act 2010. It also found, in the alternative, that the appeal-related acts were not because of, or related to, Fragile X and were not because of the protected act.

The unauthorised deduction claim concerned unpaid leave between 22 August 2023 and 11 September 2023 after the claimant did not attend refresher training. The tribunal found she was not willing or able to work during that period and was not on sick leave, so the respondent was entitled not to pay her for those days.