Flying away from the truth!

Ryanair has been referred to employment and tax authorities for investigation by two parliamentary committees, citing the airline’s “refusal to cooperate” with inquiries over crew pay and conditions. Frank Field and Rachel Reeves have written to HMRC and the director of labour market enforcement asking them to investigate Ryanair and the agencies that supply its cabin crew.

Late last year, Ryanair declined to answer further questions about pay and employment practices, after an initial response failed to satisfy MPs. Reports were leaked that agency workers employed by the aviation company were required to work for free, pay for their own training and uniforms, and take significant periods of unpaid leave, which suggested that agency workers were receiving less than the living wage. A letter from Ryanair’s HR director, sent on 21 December, said crew earned between £21,150 and £35,250 a year, double the legal minimum for the work carried out. The very brief and vague letter went no where near answering the questions that were put to the flight giant.

Field and Reeves maintain their stance on the pay conditions of Ryanair’s staff and have written to the HMRC saying that the way staff and workers are being paid is confusing and potentially away to mask low pay and poor working conditions.

They wrote: “We believe it is vital that potential poor employment practices are examined not only to ensure the rights of Ryanair cabin crew are protected, but also to ensure that there is no ‘race to the bottom’ across the aviation sector.”

Whilst there already is an investigation into the pay of pilots at Ryanair, Field had urged HMRC to extend their investigations into cabin crew as well. Reeves added that she hoped HMRC would look at the airline’s practices as a matter of priority.