Originally Posted by
De_flieger
It's a necessary distinction because there are a bunch of crewroom lawyers who think that "lawful instruction" means "there is a law saying I have to do it", when what it actually means is "there isn't a law saying it's illegal". The company can make the lawful instruction eg "Bloggs must wear a company high-vis and uniform while on the tarmac", and Bloggs can get in trouble - fired, even - for breaking that instruction, even though there is no law anywhere on the books stating "All employees of XYZ Airlines must wear company high-vis and uniform".