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Former British Airways' employee issues claim against airline
26 July 2011
A former British Airways (BA) manager Mark Smith embezelled approximately £250,000 out of the airline via operating a flight bookings scam. The manager bribed a fellow BA employee, Allan Russell, with Take That and X Factor tickets, and the airline tickets were converted by Allan Russell into ‘last minute’ expensive passes using his check in computer. The scam, involving hundreds of plane tickets, was exposed by an auditor. After a fraud investigation and a criminal trial, Mark Smith was eventually jailed for three years. However, Allan Russell was cleared by the same jury.
Allan Russell commenced proceedings against BA for unfair dismissal, breach of contract and public interest disclosure. He states that the changes made were in BA's best interest and that it was common practice for employees to make changes to reservations at the request of their colleagues. He also claims that he had done nothing wrong and had actually ‘whistle blown’ on the air fare scam, so was wrongly sacked. The hearing continues.
If you would like to seek advice on unfair dismissal, breach of contract and public interest disclosure, please contact the Howell-Jones' Employment Team.
