Ross Barr, a 48-year-old former easyJet cabin manager, says he lost his job unfairly — claiming he was sacked not because of his behavior, but because he’s straight.
Barr was dismissed for gross misconduct after repeated complaints from both passengers and colleagues. The complaints centered around his habit of using the plane’s tannoy system for “jokes” during safety briefings, as well as making comments that others found inappropriate or sexual in nature.
This wasn’t a one-off. Back in 2022, Barr was already given a final warning after people raised concerns about his behavior. But over the next two years, more complaints stacked up, and eventually easyJet let him go.
Some of the comments that got him in trouble included:
- Calling his team “lovely ladies” over the tannoy.
- Brushing past a colleague and saying, “Oh, I’ve just brushed past your boobs.”
- Telling another, “I’m not doing anything… just staring at your ass.”
- Joking with a crew member packing her bag, “Having a problem trying to stuff it in? Bet you’ve never had that problem.”
- Introducing a co-worker as his *“much more attractive colleague.”
One colleague even said he spent “the entire shift” making sexual remarks. Barr himself admitted he’d been suspended before, trying to justify one comment by saying, “All I said was that her tits would get bigger if she got pregnant, and guess what? They did.”
Barr argued that all of this was just “flirty banter” and claimed he was discriminated against for being straight, insisting that a gay colleague would’ve been treated differently.
But employment judge Muriel Robinson didn’t buy it. She rejected his appeal, pointing out that this wasn’t the first time his conduct had been called out and saying there was no evidence he’d been treated unfairly because of his sexuality. Photo by Christopher Doyle from Horley, United Kingdom, Wikimedia commons.