Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has announced it is to give all employees a 9% pay rise in April, on top of the 8% increase, £1,000 ‘thank you’ bonus and five days’ extra holiday given to everyone in 2022.
It is also increasing the terms of the company’s profit share scheme for the current financial year, meaning eligible colleagues will now get a share of 6% of the profits, rather than 5%.
Chief executive Steve Heapy, said: “We have the best colleagues in the industry, and this is reiterated constantly with all the customer service awards we receive. We remain committed to ensuring that we continue listening and reacting to their feedback as the business evolves, and we hope this will continue to make us their employer of choice for years to come.”
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Human resources director Miriam D’souli told Travel Weekly the airline and tour operator had “made forecasts about the cost of living” and said: “We think the annual pay review puts people in a positive place in terms of maintaining their lifestyles.”
She added: “We’re also giving back more of the profit we make to our colleagues to recognise what they do for us. We want to look after our people and make sure we’re treating them the best we can.
“Most colleagues will get a share of that or be part of our generous bonus or commission schemes that are purely based on company performance, so everyone benefits from our success.”
D’souli said the salary review and profit share letters came as a “total surprise” to colleagues and generated “a massive buzz” around the company.
“The response has been phenomenal; we’ve had so many emails thanking us, saying ‘Why would we ever want to work anywhere else?’
She added that the measures made good business sense and whilst there are other things that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays do to improve the working life for its employees, the financial side is also very important.
“It is a big investment, but we’ll get that back in productivity and loyalty” said D’souli. “Engagement as a result of this is incredible. It makes everyone want to work harder together, for the success of the company. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are in a good place and so we want to share that with the people that helped get us here.”
Last year, the company increased salaries by an initial 4%, which it followed soon after with another 4%, plus it paid everyone a £1,000 thank you bonus for their hard work and loyalty through the pandemic.
It also launched a Sharesave scheme for the first time in 2022 that attracted awards for its innovative launch and communication to colleagues across different countries.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays also exceptionally awarded everyone an additional five days’ annual leave, which it said was to encourage them to “take a well-earned break” when they were able to, and it introduced exclusive discounts on Jet2holidays for colleagues and their families “to enable them to do just that”.
One of these annual leave days has been made permanent and added to everyone’s entitlement.
In a letter to employees, Heapy said: “We hope that you will agree this is a positive start to the year and that we will continue to work hard together to do the best that we can to achieve record results and build upon the fantastic reputation that we have created together.”