Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

CoronavirusLatest NewsTrade unionsPay & benefits

BA pilots face unpaid leave as easyJet seeks contract changes

by Adam McCulloch 20 Mar 2020
by Adam McCulloch 20 Mar 2020 Andy Rain/EPA/REX/Shutterstock
Andy Rain/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

EasyJet has asked pilots and cabin crew to agree to widescale changes in their terms and conditions, in response to coronavirus, and British Airways has told its pilots that they won’t be paid for four weeks: two in April and two in May.

A freeze on planned pay rises at easyJet and a requirement to take three months of unpaid leave are at the centre of the changes. Unions representing the airline‘s staff have failed to reach agreement with easyJet and say they will soon put forward counter-proposals.

Coronavirus

Acas working from home guidance

How Europe is supporting workers during the crisis

Coronavirus: Four things to consider when encouraging home working

Both sides say they are willing to make concessions in order to avoid redundancies and talks are continuing. Under the proposals cabin crew and pilots will no longer be given food during shifts, and will receive only water.

On Wednesday, easyJet’s recently appointed chief operating officer Peter Bellew met delegates from the pilots’ union Balpa and Unite, which represents cabin crew.

Under discussion was a proposed “coronavirus cooperation agreement” setting out changes to employees’ terms and conditions. It would be in force from 23 March 2020 until 15 November 2021.

It would allow the airline to cancel pay rises until 2021, make major alterations to working patterns, and allow it to defer pay rises for newly promoted captains for six months.

This has caused pilots to react angrily, according to the BBC which has seen messages suggesting negotiators felt there was “no evidence that the current crisis warrants such an extensive change in terms and conditions for such a long period, particularly when so many of them are so critically linked to flight safety and fatigue”.

A statement by union Unite said: “Unite is very much still in talks with easyJet and it is totally untrue to suggest the union has rejected all the company’s proposals.”

However, the BBC has learnt that many employees and union representatives are concerned the airline might be using the current crisis as an excuse to change working practices, and erode employees’ pay and benefits in the long term.

In a statement, the company said: “EasyJet has met with its employee representatives in the UK to discuss how they can help the airline navigate through these unprecedented times…

“Like all airlines we are taking every action to remove cost and non-critical expenditure from the business at every level to help mitigate the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In the meantime, British Airways has today (Friday 20 March) announced that its pilots will be required to take two weeks’ unpaid leave in both April and May.

A letter sent to pilots by the airline stated that the unpaid leave would be implemented through deductions from basic pay over three months

Chief executive Alex Cruz last month told BA staff of plans to cut jobs and ground aircraft as he warned that the airline faced a battle to survive after the coronavirus pandemic brought most air travel to a standstill.

unpaid-leave
Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch is a freelance writer and production editor who has worked in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He also works for a national newspaper and is the author of KentWalksNearLondon

previous post
Key workers list published: children can remain at school
next post
Acas working from home guidance: be ‘practical, flexible and sensitive’

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Hybrid working trends: ONS data on where people...

23 May 2022

Aspers casino cashier excluded by colleagues wins £75k...

23 May 2022

NHS should upskill admin staff to reduce waiting...

23 May 2022

Pay gap between CEOs and employees set to...

23 May 2022

Plan to enforce minimum service during rail strikes...

23 May 2022

‘It’s International HR Day – wait, you didn’t...

20 May 2022

Policeman dubbed ‘Dolly Parton’ for working Nine to...

20 May 2022

Adapt culture to hybrid work: do not force...

20 May 2022

Women in FTSE 350 leadership: ‘A lot of...

20 May 2022

City firms pledge to improve social mobility in...

20 May 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+