Airline passenger news and views

BA cabin crew have had a long-standing perk of free or reduced-price travel. I understand that this is not treated as part of their income for contract of employment purposes and that it is not subject to income tax. There is a complex inter-relationship here which has obviously be cleared with the HMRC and, if I am correct, supports the view that the perk is at the discretion of the employer to reward loyalty.

One of the reasons given for the current phase of BA/Unite dispute is exactly that BA have withdrawn the perk from 'disloyal' strikers.

There is obviously always a problem when long-standing perks start to be seen as a right. There is an even deeper problem when an employer appears to be punishing strikers and bringing into question the legitimate right of workers to withdraw their labour as part of a dispute. This may be a bit of a throwback to tougher times but is something that needs to be resolved and resolved quickly.