British Airways Begins Enforcing Unpaid Leave?

As the coronavirus continues to batter the airline industry, carriers are being forced to make tough cost-cutting decisions. Thursday morning, discussion stirred in the FlyerTalk forums, suggesting British Airways is responding to the impact of the outbreak by enforcing unpaid employee leave.

What We Know

In the British Airways forum, British Airways Employees Unpaid Leave Rumour the buzz came “From a source working at [Heahtrow Airport (LHR)], British Airways have this morning had a meeting with ground crew at LHR this morning informing them that they will be enforcing short periods of unpaid leave spread over the next 6 months.”

The rumor was partially confirmed by a British Airways employee who stated, “Not a rumour, we are being offered unpaid leave, temporary part time, I would expect career breaks and VR to follow.”

Whether or not the leave is voluntary–“the rumour wasn’t of it being offered, but it being enforced,” commented OP, “that part is a little more complex and it is easy for someone to misinterpret what was said in a meeting, etc.”

Using the word “offered” rather than “enforced” would change the narrative. “Offer” suggests employees have the option to take off work, whereas “enforced” means it is mandatory. FlyerTalk has reached out to British Airways for further details and we will update this article as we learn more information.

If the rumor is indeed true, then British Airways will join the number of other airlines also enforcing unpaid leave, including United Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Asiana Airlines, and more.