UK airline pilots have claimed a “major victory” after a European court ruled that British Airways should base holiday pay on overall earnings and not just on basic pay.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) estimates the European Court of Justice verdict may cost airlines £50 million.
The case will now go back to the UK Supreme Court for a ruling. BA said it would await the Supreme Court’s decision.
Balpa believes airlines may have to pay out £20 million to pilots and £30 million to cabin crew and other employees following the decision.
The test case could affect up to 12,000 pilots and cabin crew working for BA and other airlines, based on Balpa calculations of backdated pay over six years.
Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: “This is a major victory for all pilots in the UK, not just the 3,000 BA pilots who had their claims heard by the European Court of Justice. The calculation of holiday pay was a clear example of pilots being short-changed by their employers.
“We always believed that under European working time rules introduced in 2004 pilots should be treated like other working people in the UK and receive their proper pay during holidays. This should not be restricted to basic salary, but should include allowances.
“BA and other UK airlines opposed us, but after a six year legal battle the European Court of Justice agreed with us.
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UK airline pilots have claimed a “major victory” after a European court ruled that British Airways should base holiday pay on overall earnings and not just on basic pay.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association estimates that the European Court of Justice verdict would affect pilots and cabin crew and may cost airlines £50 million.
The case will now go back to the UK Supreme Court for a final ruling, which the union said was unlikely to differ.
BA said it would await the Supreme Court’s decision.
The union believes airlines may have to pay out £20 million to pilots and £30 million to cabin crew and other employees following the decision.
The test case could potentially affect up to 12,000 pilots and cabin crew working for BA and other airlines, based on BALPA calculations on backdated pay over six years.
BALPA general secretary Jim McAuslan said: “This is a major victory for all pilots in the UK, not just the 3,000 British Airways pilots who had their claims heard by the European Court of Justice.
”The calculation of holiday pay was a clear example of pilots being short-changed by their employers.
“We always believed that under European working time rules introduced in 2004 pilots should be treated like other working people in the UK and should receive their proper pay during holidays. This should not be restricted to basic salary but should include allowances.
“British Airways and other UK airlines opposed us but, after a six year legal battle, the European Court of Justice finally agreed with us. Based on this judgment, Balpa will be seeking to agree similar holiday pay arrangements for pilots at other UK airlines.”
A BA spokesman said the ultimate decision remains with the UK Supreme Court, which had referred “technical aspects” of the case to the European Court of Justice. He said: “We are considering the European Court’s ruling and await the decision of the Supreme Court on whether it affects the holiday pay which has been collectively agreed between BA and its trade unions.”