Jaysus....Id crap myself if I saw ANY crew member in the full brace position at any stage of a flight...id think there was something immediately wrong! LOL!
I think what many of you mean by the crew being in the brace position for TO and Landing is adopting a "semi" brace position...having your legs and feet in the correct place with your hands by your side/sitting on them/on your lap not interlocked or however it is in your airline!!!!
As for your man, well I dont think he did anything wrong. Personally id feel like a knob but bless him he was just keeping his passengers happy. Anyways, that was the old Olympic so whether or not he is still in a job there is probably an entirely new set of management looking after his department so Im sure he wont get into any trouble! And anyways, their A340's are no more!!!!!