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Redundancy by sectorAviation redundancy: your rights, pay and settlement agreements
Aviation redundancy pay calculations including flying pay and allowances, collective consultation and how aviation settlement agreements work.
Airlines, airports and ground handling firms are highly exposed to swings in passenger demand, fuel costs and route profitability, which has led to repeated rounds of redundancy across the sector, including large collective exercises during periods of reduced flying. Pay in aviation, particularly for cabin crew and pilots, often includes flying pay, allowances and other variable elements alongside basic salary, which complicates the calculation of a week's pay for redundancy purposes. Collective consultation obligations apply where numbers are significant, and unions are heavily involved in many aviation redundancy exercises. Settlement agreements are used both for individual exits and, in some cases, to formalise terms alongside a wider collective redundancy process.
Key points
- Flying pay and allowances complicate how a week's pay is calculated for aviation redundancy.
- Aviation redundancies are often driven by swings in passenger demand and route profitability.
- Unions are heavily involved in many aviation collective redundancy exercises.
- Collective consultation thresholds of 20 and 100 or more redundancies apply as in other sectors.
Settlement agreements in aviation
Settlement agreements in aviation are used for individual exits, management roles, and to resolve disputes, as well as sometimes alongside collective redundancy exercises affecting cabin crew, ground staff or pilots. Because variable pay elements affect both redundancy calculations and any settlement figure, it is worth checking exactly how allowances and flying pay have been included or excluded. Independent legal advice is required before a settlement agreement is binding, and this is normally paid for by the employer.
Been offered a settlement agreement?
If your aviation employer has offered you a settlement agreement as part of a redundancy, we will review it the same working day and tell you honestly whether the offer is fair. Free to you when your employer pays our fee, which is the case in nearly every UK settlement agreement.
Aviation redundancy: frequently asked questions
Does my flying pay count towards redundancy calculations?
It depends on how regularly you receive it and whether it forms a normal part of your pay, which affects whether it is included in the average used to calculate a week's pay for redundancy purposes. This is a common area of dispute in aviation redundancies, so it is worth checking how your employer has calculated the figure before accepting it.
Why do airlines make large numbers of staff redundant at once?
Airlines are highly sensitive to changes in passenger demand, fuel costs and route profitability, and often restructure quickly in response, which can lead to large collective redundancy exercises affecting cabin crew, pilots or ground staff together. Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one site, collective consultation rules require the employer to consult representatives before dismissals take effect.
Will I get a settlement agreement if I am made redundant from an airline?
It depends on the type of exercise. Large collective redundancies are usually handled through consultation and statutory or enhanced redundancy pay, while settlement agreements are more common for individual exits, management roles, or where there is a dispute to resolve alongside the redundancy.