BA steward refused to be called darling: It offended my religious beliefs, he tells tribunal

By Neil Sears for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:39 EDT, 25 April 2012 | Updated: 11:37 EDT, 26 April 2012


Offence: Rothstein Williams was insulted by the term 'darling'

Offence: Rothstein Williams was insulted by the term 'darling'

When a female colleague called him ‘darling’, British Airways steward Rothstein Williams was far from flattered.

In fact he was so offended he complained first to her, then to his bosses – and then to an employment tribunal.

According to Mr Williams, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the widely-used endearment was an insult offensive to his religious beliefs.

To make matters worse, he said, another BA colleague had criticised him for reading his beloved Bible and managers refused to do anything about it.

Mr Williams, 41, duly went to the tribunal to claim BA discriminated against him on religious grounds.

His claim failed to take off, however, after the tribunal in Reading heard that BA has so many staff they struggle to remember each other’s names, so ‘darling’ is a useful substitute.

Ruling there was no evidence of religious discrimination, tribunal judge Jessica Hill said Mr Williams’s claim did not have any legal basis and dismissed it before a full hearing could begin.

Mr Williams, of Leytonstone, East London, explained how he came to be so offended during a trans-Atlantic flight in 2010. He said: ‘My colleague said “Take the glasses darling”. I said I was Rothstein.’

British Airways planes at Heathrow Airport: BA steward Rothstein Williams took the company to a tribunal after a colleague called him 'darling'

British Airways planes at Heathrow Airport: BA steward Rothstein Williams took the company to a tribunal after a colleague called him 'darling'

The woman said she regularly called people ‘darling’ and passengers liked it, adding it was a ‘nice name’.

On another occasion Mr Williams said a male colleague had seen him reading his Bible at work and harassed him because of it.

‘I wouldn’t think we would be any more offended by use of the word “darling” than any other members of the public. And a pastor would suggest you turn the other cheek’

 Victor Hulbert, spokesman for the Seventh-day Adventist Church

He said he had been undertaking Bible studies but ended up in front of a disciplinary panel which sided with the witness – who said he had been writing about his colleagues.

Mr Williams, who is still employed by the airline, said his treatment left him depressed.

But Judge Hill insisted it was his reactions to fellow members of staff that led to his disciplinary action and suspension, not his religious beliefs.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded in the US in 1863 and has around 34,000 British worshippers.

Victor Hulbert, spokesman for the British wing, said: ‘I wouldn’t think we would be any more offended by use of the word “darling” than any other members of the public. And a pastor would suggest you turn the other cheek.’