The Workplace Relations Commission found two complaints by former Aer Lingus cabin crew member Victoria Purtill were not well founded, rejecting claims of disability discrimination, victimisation and workplace safety penalisation. The decision was dated 12 July 2023.
Purtill said enhanced severance was made conditional on waiving her pending personal injury claim, and that Aer Lingus later refused her staff travel concessions. The offer was €84,315.67 gross, including statutory redundancy and a Labour Court recommended payment; she received statutory redundancy and contractual entitlements after declining the settlement terms.
Aer Lingus said the conditions applied to affected employees and that travel concessions formed part of the voluntary severance scheme. The adjudication officer found Purtill had a disability, but found the travel concessions were part of the enhanced severance terms and she was not entitled to them after declining those terms. The officer found no evidence the decision was victimisation and no causal link between the alleged detriment and her health and safety representation.
The officer concluded that neither complaint was established. The decision concerned two complaints heard alongside a separate case, and this report covers only the complaints decided here.