Heathrow Airport warns of up to 25,000 aviation job cuts as it launches voluntary redundancy scheme
HEATHROW Airport is warning up to 25,000 aviation workers may lose their jobs as it launches a voluntary redundancy scheme. The company said it had agreed the scheme with unions as it battles to recover from the coronavirus crisis. Heathrow has also already cut a third of its managerial roles. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said […]
HEATHROW Airport is warning up to 25,000 aviation workers may lose their jobs as it launches a voluntary redundancy scheme.
The company said it had agreed the scheme with unions as it battles to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
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Heathrow has also already cut a third of its managerial roles.
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said today: “Throughout this crisis we have tried to protect frontline jobs but this is no longer sustainable, and we have now agreed a voluntary severance scheme with our union partners.
“While we cannot rule out further job reductions, we will continue to explore options to minimise the number of job losses.”
British Airways, which operates the most flights to and from the airport, has previously announced a plan to cut up to 12,000 jobs.
Your rights if you're made redundant
IF you're being made redundant, you may be eligible for the below, according to GOV.UK.
- Redundancy pay: If you’ve been working for your current employer for at least two years, you’re usually entitled to a statutory redundancy pay.
- A notice period: According to redundancy law, you’re entitled to a minimum notice period of 12 weeks’ if employed for 12 years or more, at least one week’s notice if you have been employed between one month and two years, or one week’s notice for each year if employed between two and 12 years. If your employer doesn’t want you to work your notice period they can offer you a lump sum instead.
- A consultation with your employer: Employers always have to consult with employees before dismissing them on the grounds of redundancy. In short, your employer must tell you what’s going on and give you a chance to ask questions and raise objections.
- The option to move into a different job: Your employer might offer you “suitable alternative employment” within your organisation or an associated company. Keep in mind that you may lose your right to statutory redundancy pay if you unreasonably turn it down.
- Time off to find a new job: If you’ve been continuously employed for two years, you could be given a reasonable amount of time off to look for another job or to arrange training to help you find another job.
A total of 76,000 people are employed across 400 different companies at Heathrow, of which 7,000 are directly employed staff.
Mr Holland-Kaye told the City AM podcast last week that cuts being made by airlines mean around 25,000 of these jobs could be at risk.
Heathrow couldn’t share how many workers directly employed by the airport are at risk of losing their jobs when contacted by The Sun today.
But it added that it’s working with its union partners to minimise the number of staff who leave non-voluntarily.
The travel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with passenger numbers at the UK’s biggest airport hitting an all-time low.
Just 228,000 passengers travelled through the airport in May, down 97 per cent on the same month last year.
Year-on-year demand across the first five months of 2020 is now down 44 per cent.
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Airlines have grounded the majority of their aircraft because of the collapse in demand, and Heathrow said today “employment levels are no longer sustainable”.
It said in a statement that the “grim picture is set to continue” as the 14-day quarantine policy came into force on Monday.
Heathrow is urging the government to establish air bridges between the UK and countries with few coronavirus cases, so passengers can avoid having to self-isolate.
This will enable the UK to “restart its economy in earnest, protecting livelihoods in aviation and the sectors that rely on it”, it said.
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A month ago, the Heathrow boss was urging Brits to take flights to help supercharge the economy.
He’s also called for temperature checks, coronavirus tests and health passports at all airports.
Meanwhile, social distancing could be tricky with a 1km boarding queue for each plane.