Originally Posted by
Tiziana
....to those who are laid off due to Covid 19 (companies will make an application to HMRC to pay the wages). I was laid of in January and all those taxes that I have paid up until then will go to supporting my fellow ATPL holders and their employers who are working at present. Is this a matter of luck or should the unemployed pilots not be getting more help, maybe 80% of their wages when they were laid off in the last year? I wonder how all the Flybe/Thomas cook pilots think about it? Why should all the money that I spent on my ATPL result in me supporting Virgin, BA or Easyjet or should I be happy with my Job seekers allowance?
I believe the money is going to help sustainable companies not to fold in a crisis situation.
I have sympathy for our situation, however the comparison is not entirely correct. Virgin always live on the edge, however BA and easyJet as you mention are in entirely different positions than Flybe / Thomas Cook was, the latter was mismanaged and folded in normal circumstances, and if we did not have this crisis, you most likely would have been able to get a job with these companies you are attacking, within the next 12 months, however now it's a double whammy for you, as recruitment will have stopped also, and no new jobs in sight in Europe for sometime.
The problem is UK unemployment benefits are to low, and should be based on your earnings the last 18 - 36 months instead as a percentage of this.
However UK can't afford to let all BA / Easyjet crew suddenly become unemployed, and the government help is not specific for the airline industry, it's for all business. When the crisis is over, there must be people around to pick up the mess, and leaving everyone to their own devices will cripple UK, Europe, the World.