Ex-Heathrow Officer Whose Discrimination Claim Was Dismissed Begins Three-Month MoJ Internship

A former Heathrow security officer who sued the airport after being asked to remove a Palestine-flag badge has begun a three-month internship with HM Courts and Tribunals Service at the Ministry of Justice.

Zara Saiyed, an aspiring lawyer, launched an employment claim after a colleague challenged the Palestine flag on her staff lanyard in November 2023. Ms Saiyed argued the instruction was comparable to being told to remove a hijab and filed a formal grievance alleging discriminatory treatment.

The employment tribunal dismissed her case in June, finding that some of her evidence was not always credible and describing her as "prone to hyperbole" who had become "swept along with her own inaccurate narrative." After nearly two weeks of hearings, the panel unanimously rejected all claims against Heathrow.

Zara Saiyed said in a LinkedIn post that she 'chose not to let adversity define me'

"We find that the claimant is capable of saying something and believing it is true, and yet is shown to be wrong when you look at the contemporaneous documents," the tribunal said. "We find that the claimant is a very capable, intelligent individual, but someone whose evidence was not always credible and reliable."

Ms Saiyed announced on LinkedIn that she had taken up a three-month placement with the HM Courts and Tribunals Service. In her post she described how pursuing the workplace claim had led to new opportunities: "Looking back, it's incredible to see how much life can change in just one year. What once felt like the end of my career became the beginning of a completely new one. I chose not to let adversity define me."

Details of Ms Saiyed's duties during the placement have not been disclosed. The HM Courts and Tribunals Service administers employment tribunals and other judicial processes. It is understood the placement was offered around the same time Ms Saiyed was informed her legal action had been dismissed.

Zara Saiyed's employment tribunal claims were unanimously dismissed

The original dispute followed the Hamas-led attacks in October 2023, which the original reporting cited as resulting in significant casualties. Ms Saiyed lodged a grievance the day after the lanyard incident, writing that asking her to remove the Palestine flag was "tantamount to finding my hijab offensive and insisting on its removal." She also accused Heathrow, in grievance documents, of being "complicit in the killing of Palestinian babies," language the tribunal considered as part of the evidence.

The tribunal accepted that Ms Saiyed genuinely believed she had been wronged, and described her as a Muslim woman who "identifies with and associates with Palestinians" and may be perceived as Palestinian. However, the panel found no evidence that Heathrow's actions were motivated by her race or religion and therefore dismissed the discrimination claims.

This development highlights tensions in workplaces over political expression and how employers balance uniform or appearance policies with staff members' rights to express identity and beliefs. Ms Saiyed's new placement places her within the civil justice system at a formative moment in her legal career, though specifics of the role remain undisclosed.