Unions to seek compensation over Monarch collapse

The two unions representing Pilots, Cabin Crew and Engineers are preparing legal action over the way the Monarch collapse was handled.

Representing Pilots, the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said it was seeking compensation for its members over what it described as the “shabby” handling of the redundancy news.

Unite, which is representing Cabin Crew and Engineers is claiming over the lack of consultation.

Monarch Travel Group collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning as it faced a loss of around £100m and the loss of its ATOL certificate. All flights were immediately cancelled leaving most of their staff without jobs.

KPMG were called in as administrators and invited staff to face to face meetings at 9am on the Tuesday, or the option of a conference call at 2pm on the same day.

Staff have since complained that those who opted for the conference call had to pay for the privilege although KPMG has said it will reimburse them.

Speaking about the potential action Brian Strutton, general secretary of BALPA, said: BALPA can confirm that we will also be seeking compensation for the shabby way our members were notified of their company’s demise and their own sacking.”

Unite said “Unite is doing everything it can to assist former Monarch workers in securing new jobs, offering free legal advice and launching legal action to secure the compensation they are owed, as well as helping members find jobs with other airlines”

KPMG told us it had sent redundancy letters to employees on Tuesday night, day two of the administration, which they claim is extremely fast for any administration.  They said that a number of the Monarch HR team had been retained to help staff that have lost jobs find work as soon as possible.

Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited was spun off into a separate company without any job losses.

About Nick Harding 2043 Articles
Nick is the senior reporter and editor at UK Aviation News as well as working freelance elsewhere. He has his finger firmly on the pulse on Aviation, not only in the UK but worldwide. Nick has been asked to speak in a professional capacity on LBC, Heart and other broadcast networks.