52-year-old flight attendant lost her job because of an "extreme" hairstyle (2 photos)

Lawyer Amanda Buchanan insists her client was treated "more harshly" because she is a woman.





Marion Mackay, 52, from Edinburgh, UK, quit her job because of her "extreme" hairstyle. She has since sued her employer, budget airline Jet2, for gender discrimination. The former flight attendant is seeking compensation for emotional distress and loss of earnings. However, a UK court ruled that the company had not breached employment laws.

McKay, who worked for Jet2 for about 14 months, claims that management threatened to suspend her because her hairstyle did not meet corporate standards. According to the plaintiff, this happened shortly after she completed an annual crew appearance assessment in July 2023.

Deputy Crew Manager Stuart Mackenzie denied all the allegations and told the court that the company had planned to discuss MacKay's hairstyle but were unable to do so because she was busy. According to him, the flight attendant was not prevented from performing her job duties, but was only asked to change her hairstyle because it did not comply with the carrier's rules due to its "extreme style".



The plaintiff's lawyer, Amanda Buchanan, insisted that her client had been treated "more harshly" because she was a woman. She claimed that her male colleagues had similar hairstyles, but that she was the only one being asked to change her appearance.

In her written decision, employment judge Michelle Sutherland said: "The plaintiff resigned because she was asked to change her hairstyle, but that was not discriminatory."

Commenting on the verdict, Marion said she was disappointed by the situation.

"I'm just going to move on. It's really frustrating considering I got hired looking like that, but it's okay," she added.