Desley Sherwin
Desley Sherwin, Senior Associate and Employment Lawyer at Roythornes Solicitors, said: “Sadly, it comes as no surprise that Virgin Atlantic has expressed a need to cut jobs as a result of the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry. What is perhaps surprising is that Virgin is not waiting before commencing a 45-day collective consultation to cut its 10,000 strong workforce by more than 3,000 jobs.
“The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is currently running until at least the end of June and may be extended. We expect the Chancellor to confirm his position regarding an extension to the scheme within the next week. He has already commented that the scheme cannot continue indefinitely and that he is looking at other ways to ease people back into work.
“Virgin Atlantic has recognised that in reality almost a third of its workforce are simply not going to be able to get back to work. However, the company’s actions will leave many employees ineligible for furlough payments if the scheme is extended into July and wondering how and when they will find alternative employment.”
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