The Court of Appeal has agreed with the lower courts that a part-time cabin crew member had been treated less favourably than a full-time crew member, because she had to be available for work 53.5% of the year but was only paid 50% of the full-time salary (British Airways plc v Pinaud).

Ms Pinaud had to be available to work 130 days per year and a full-time comparator had to be available for 243 days per year. Despite having to be available for a greater proportion of the year (53.5%), she was paid 50% of a full time employee's salary.

Less favourable treatment will not be unlawful if it can be objectively justified. British Airways argued, with supporting statistics, that Ms Pinaud was not actually required to work more hours (proportionately) than a full-time employee so the impact of the less favourable treatment was minimal.

The Court of Appeal found that there was, on the face of it, less favourable treatment in the contractual arrangements, and sent the case back to a different tribunal to look at objective justification. It expressed scepticism about BA's argument on justification but also commented that if BA's statistical evidence was accepted, it would be surprising if a tribunal found that Ms Pinaud's loss was as much as 3.5% of her total remuneration over the ten-year period in question (which would have been £50,000 in total).

With the current boom in flexible working arrangements and an increasing number of employees working part-time employers need to consider carefully the pay and benefits offered to, and hours worked by, part-time employees in comparison to their full-time equivalents. If there is a difference, make sure there is a good, documented reason for it and that your records support your reasoning.

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.