(Although strictly a personal tax liability, BA chooses to pick up the tax bill on behalf of both employees and pensioners and settles this with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs every year.")
Does BA do this at the employee's marginal rate of income tax or on a pre arranged basis with the revenue authority or if not on those basis, then on what agreement do they have. There has to be a difference between travel on BA incurred about as a positioning to work and travel solely for recreation on the part of the employee or the employee's nominated proxy. Is the benefit cumulative and even large enough take the value of a salary in to the 40% tax bracket.
So WW plays a clever waiting game while the conference is on, presumably making the hope that the union themselves will throw BASSA out. At the same time, if he does not give way on the travel perks, he must save BA a fortune in tax money. There's a bit of the pension fund problems still to come?
I don't know what rate the revenue/BA use, whether an average or specific to staff who have used the tickets, but the tax cost is not high, individually, as although 'bookable', ultimately even the bookable tickets are an otherwise empty seat. If a passenger needs it, the staff don't get on. So the cost to BA is simply the food and drink, and admin costs, and the remote possiblity of the cost of overnight accomodation for offloaded staff on a firm bookable ticket that they have been offloaded from abroad. However, this is rare, BA knows it's load factors very well, and does not give bookable tickets out on any old route, any old time, but only where it expects there to be space!
There is a maximum of 2 bookable tickets a year, if someone has 20 years service or more, 1 after 5 years.
The standby tickets make a profit as BA get 10% where they would otherwise get nothing, I would expect the tax cost of the bookable tickets is covered from the profit on the standby tickets.
Positioning to work would be standby only, as no one would have enough bookable tickets to use them for work. As said above and in previous posts, standby tickets do not attract tax as they cost BA nothing.
BA management and the unions have agreed a solution to the pension fund shortfall, simply put, work longer/pay more, it is awaiting ratification from the pensions authority.