Forced unpaid leave at ryanair
 

To: All Pilots

Date: 15th September 2008
Re: Recruitment Freeze
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have recently been inundated with applications from pilots whose employers (such as Zoom, Futura and XL) have gone bust in the past few weeks. We are also receiving applications from pilots who fear that their airline may go bankrupt shortly.

Since we already have more than treble the applications we require for our possible future needs we have decided to impose a recruitment freeze with immediate effect (from 15th September) until further notice. This freeze will be reviewed again in early January 2009. Training courses already scheduled for October will be run as planned, however no further recruits will be added
to these courses.

Delayed aircraft deliveries due to the Boeing strike and a close to zero pilot attrition rate in recent months means that we are currently overstaffed in our pilot/flight operations department.We will continue to seek unpaid winter leave applications, particularly at our largest bases,Dublin and Stansted, where our winter base aircraft numbers have been reduced. If we do not receive sufficient applications on/before the end of September, then we will allocate unpaid leave to some Dublin and Stansted based pilots from November onwards.

If you wish to apply for unpaid leave, please contact ***** *****
before the end of September.

As always, even during these extremely difficult times, our focus will be upon maintaining jobs and the security of employment of all our pilots and people.

Best regards

:confused: Well interesting to go out with a public announcement on Pprune :eek:

Anyway, thanks for info. Just one thing- how do we know this is a real post, and not someone at home with too much spare time and wannabe attitude?

Reference please :suspect:

It's a real post, although I'm not too sure why someone would post up a company internal memo.

SD
 

Because it's very interesting to almost all of us.

Because its a pilot rumour network..what do you expect on these pages.. sport news? :confused:

And quite what is the point of posting the item in the first place?
Trying to intimate that Ryanair is about to go bust?
Trying to convince us that pilots are getting it in the neck in Ryanair?
I am at a loss as to why you would wish to publicise the fact that Ryanair is doing what any sensible airline would do in the quieter winter months.
For heaven's sake, get some perspective here.
As you obviously work for the company, then pray tell me what you hope to achieve by putting this post here in the first place?

I'm not aware of any other airline imposing 'unpaid leave' on pilots?

That doesn't mean nobody else is, just that I haven't heard of it.

It certainly doesn't sound like the actions of a 'caring' employer!:rolleyes: After all, I thought this was a company with massive cash reserves???:suspect:

Sounds like a number of pilots are going to to be using some 'cash reserves', in order to excuse MOL from using his! :D

Posting about RYR forced leave.
 

Rubic 101,

Excellent post, thank you for putting things in perspective.:cool:

Well done from someone obviously knows what he is talking about---for a change!

rubik 101

Perhaps just to keep Ryan e mail box and postal box a little clearer?
Makes room for all the Christmas cards they get for keeping pilots in work?

Why not call it 'being furloughed'? Happens enough in the Western Cousin's land.

Study leave?
One company I worked for.....
All first officers have unpaid study leave for ATPL exam.
Captains double up in cockpit.
No problems, probably could not do this now in Europe.
Ha! But sometimes there is one Captain that really does not like being in First Officer seat !

Different companies have different methods of reducing costs when times are hard.

Some years ago the majority of BA Pilots accepted a near 5% annual paycut so that a minority of volunteer pilots could take half pay leave for a few months. (As negotiated by BALPA). A little pain for everyone saves a lot of pain for a few. I don't recall if other groups in BA had the same "deal".

Assuming the OP is genuine, why does the memo mention job applications and bankrupt airlines in the first paragraph, when the whole thing is about taking leave?

Unless if missed something, it looks to me like a thinly veiled threat. OK late deliveries and a downturn means the company has to do something, so they need the co-operation of the workforce. The tone of the memo seems abrasive.

Rubik - I don't get it. The post is interesting, even to SLF such as myself. If it's a wind-up then FR's lawyers will have been onto Pprune like a shot as they have in the past.

In fairness to FR they're warning the pilots that something may (or may not) happen. The letter explains why. If you reckon the publication of the letter here is trying to intimate that FR is going bust then your logic baffles me. If anything I would say it was the reverse.

Rubik,

I don't get it either. FR are going to lay off pilots - so all of a sudden no job with no pay (and you have no choice), and this is not of interest?

It is of interest, to pilots considering FR and pilots who work for other airlines whose management may look to FR as some kind of grim role model.

Good luck to those pilots at DUB and STN who may find themselves bereft of any income at Christmas.

It is no job and no pay but you get job back when good times roll again.
It is not the same as no job, end of saga. As merlinxx said, it is a furlough.
Try to dig up short term contract work in the sun over winter?

Look on the bright side - Ryanair can lay off Rubik with no pay for a few months and he will THANK THEM for the priviledge!!!!!

Yes - in the UK we call it being laid off.

I wouldn't be suprised that measures like these will be unique to the likes of FR in the coming weeks/months. Winter has always been a particularly lean time for many operators, however recent occurences will mean that this winter becomes a quest for survival for many. You can see what some airlines are doing by just visiting a few of their websites "Summer Sale 2009"
"Pay no taxes or charges" It smacks of an effort in attempting to get money into the bank ASAP.

No one likes to be told that they face unpaid leave, however this will have been nothing new to pilots at both DUB and STN as capacity cuts have been on the cards for quite a while now. As a result the company has asked people to volunteer for a month off. Contractors have had no choice, as this is part and parcel of their contract. I sympathise with everyone in these difficult times, especially my piers in the likes of XL, Zoom, Silverjet and Futura who no longer have their jobs to go to. Unfortunately these guys were offered no alternative, and while I reiterate that the possibility of unpaid leave is hardly favorable, at least it doesn't have a P45 attached to it.

Is the leave going to be forced on contract pilots only,ie brookfield guys, or pilots who work for Ryanair? if so is this allowed? surely somebody who works for an agency ie brookfield must be made to take leave first, if pilots who work for the actual company are available for work? surely there must be some legal ruling in favour of actual company employe's ,or indeed a breach of contract?

LGwarrior

This is unpaid leave.
So any paid leave already there carries on until back on line flying?
Or first cut of unpaid leave becomes paid leave owing from company?

If this a genuine post, I find it ironic and rather presumptuous that Ryanair should use pprune as communication medium with its pilots, especially in light of its previous aggressive dealings with this website.

It's funny how they keep crying about the strike at the Boeing plant causing aircraft shortage. What about the parking of aircraft and route cuts?

this is the truth and now the pilots get screwed over again.The amazing thing is that the pilots of ryanair cannot see the reality of their situation and we are now reaping the downside of our colleagues inability to get off their asses and fight for their cause.what a bunch of complete idiots!!!

So do FR guys have contracts that state they can be laid-off for an unspecified amount of time and be paid absolutely nothing?

If you are Ryanair and laid off you will....

Get your job back?
Have the opportunity to work some where else or have fun. Who knws, perhaps both?
If enough people do not volunteer for laid off then some will be forced to lay off?
If you do not lay off, you will be fired?
If not enough lay off, some will be fired?
If that all is correct, then put affairs in order and prepare for unpaid holiday. Get towel in first for crew on dive boat live aboard in Red Sea.
For sure the company can do this. They give you a chance to keep the job through a bad time.

lgw warrior, that indeed is the $20,000 question.

Hang on a minute, why would FR want to give pilots unpaid leave when there is xx amount of new aircraft arriving each month and big expansion plans in europe, or is it really the case this business model is failing in current economic climate??

The memo is true enough… send out on the company intranet…

Remember it is UNPAID LEAVE, you have not been fired, and you are still employed by the company… FR contracts stipulate that you are not allowed to work for other employers while still an FR employee… and now they will be sending drivers home without pay!!

If you don’t pay.... you don’t get to make the rules…:=

If this is the case,all training courses should be suspended immediatly!not next month,why even take guys through base training (££££) and line training (££££) when fully qualifed guys are sat at home getting paid squat! again, there has to be some kind of employment law against this,training new guys for your job, whilst not allowing you to work, i think those guys would have potential legal issues with the company.good to see that ryan look after there own !??!! :mad:


LGwarrior

This is FR, why, and where, do you think the LAW would come into play:mad:

I think you'll find that most of the people taking the training in the next few months, including base and line training will all be contractors, IE new FATPL's on brookfield contracts. Being contractors they are not offically employees of the company and therefore training new guys for your job doesn't count..

These trainees are just a figure on a balance sheet...Sad but true...

Geez... I remember seeing something about most households in the UK being 3 months away from bankruptcy... So these poor guys that are going to be dumped for an unspecified length of time when there is going to be very little opportunity to find a viable alternative income will be totally screwed.

It not sound business, it's ruthless capitalism. All the nutters that keep boasting about however many billions of Euros are in RYR's bank...perhaps it would be nice to use a fraction of it in support of the loyal crews that work for RYR rather than supporting MOL's share options.

Filth, total filth

Surprised ? . . . . thought not.
I guess as they are only on unpaid leave not unemployed they can't claim any unemployment benefit, and , as has been said before ,are not "allowed" to work for someone else as they are still employed by Ryanair, although for the ones who are contractors I doubt that would stick.
For the new F/O's struggling to pay off their training debts this is going to be a very tough time, many will also have less than 500 hrs on type which makes them less attractive to potential contract agencies. Hang in there guys there is always Macdonalds. . . again.

This makes me glad i chose the career route i did -- was offered to pay €30k for a FR course, but declined, and got a B200 job. Doing the TR now, very friendly company and excellent terms and benefits. Paid during rating and a very stable job for years to come...

No work, no money? Call it what you like, being laid off, on unpaid leave, or temporarily fired... stinks anyway. Don't know about you guys but I enjoy money.

C'mon Whatthehellwasthat .... If you're trying to get yourself dismissed for Gross Misconduct, posting an internal RYR memo on here, in full, is a bit feeble. Why not go out in style, and stick one on the Chief Pilot?
Standby for the RYR management backlash, as they try to find the culprit!
Fifty one years old? Based in Essex? .... should narrow it down a bit...

Isn't this unpaid leave stuff something which every brookfielder has to go through each year? As far as I know, they have to take 1 unpaid month a year. Maybe that's what the memo is referring to?

Is this refering to just brookfield contractors? i cant imagine a situation where an employed ryanair pilot is sat at home on unpaid leave,yet a contractor is in operating his flights?it doesnt make any sense and i cant imagine any company willing to suffer the backlash from its pilot employees with such an idea.if so,then its the start of something bad for all of us, ryanair or not , as a pilot community we should stick together on this, if a floating happy go lucky contractor can take our permanent jobs then its the end of the line for this industry, family?job security? doesnt matter, its over fellas!

LGwarrior

Next FR will be asking pilots to take a pay cut as American airlines did..Forced unpaid holiday, paycuts all adds upto the same thing!!