Woman Loses Employment Tribunal Case Over Missing Leaving Card

 

A woman who took legal action against her former employer for not receiving a leaving card has lost her case after it was revealed that the card had been hidden from her because only three colleagues signed it. Karen Conaghan, who worked at IAG, the parent company of British Airways, claimed that the company’s failure to acknowledge her departure was a violation of equality law.

During the tribunal proceedings, a former colleague testified that although the company had purchased a leaving card, it was not presented to Conaghan due to the low number of signatures. Judge Kevin Palmer stated that it might have been more disrespectful to give her the card than to withhold it entirely.

The tribunal heard that two other men laid off during the company's restructuring did not receive leaving cards either. Conaghan had filed 40 complaints against IAG, alleging sexual harassment, victimization, and unfair dismissal. However, the tribunal dismissed all her claims, with Judge Palmer remarking that Conaghan exhibited a "conspiracy-theory mentality" by interpreting normal workplace interactions as harassment.

One of Conaghan’s complaints involved a colleague who corrected her spelling of the word “whiz” in a card, writing “whizz” instead. She also cited a comment from another employee who asked, “Are you taking the piss, Karen?” following her suggestion that he should contribute more effort to their work.

Conaghan relocated to Richmond, North Yorkshire, in September 2021, despite the company’s expectation that employees would live within two hours of the Heathrow office. She was made redundant later that year during organizational restructuring, which also affected many other employees.

Although additional signatures were gathered on the leaving card after Conaghan’s departure, a colleague felt it was inappropriate to send it to her due to her grievances against him and another staff member. Judge Palmer concluded that many of the incidents cited by Conaghan either did not occur or were benign interactions typical in a work environment. He further stated that there was no evidence linking her allegations to her gender and noted that one of her claims reflected her perception of normal interactions as something more troubling.

In a separate case earlier this year, an employment tribunal ruled that sending an employee an unwanted birthday card could constitute "unwanted conduct" and harassment.