Various airlines have cut their employees' salaries during the corona pandemic. In Spain, the Supreme Court has now ruled that the approach chosen by Ryanair was unlawful.

There were various models in the EU states that were intended to support companies that were particularly hard hit by the effects of the corona pandemic. In some states there was short-time work and comparable programs, in a few there was nothing comparable at all. But no matter what you call it: those affected sometimes have significantly less money in their account than if they were working normally.

Some companies have more or less voluntarily agreed to reduced salaries with their employees. For example, a so-called crisis collective agreement was concluded at Austrian Airlines, which included reduced wages and salaries for the period after short-time work. This was apparently “waved through” by the employee representatives extremely carelessly and under the initial shock of the corona pandemic. When this actually came into force, people wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

In Spain, Ryanair flight attendants received around ten percent less pay. The pilots' salaries were cut by 20 percent. The problem: According to the USO union, there was no social partner agreement, so the employee representatives took legal action against it. The case has ended up before the Supreme Court, which has now decided that the employer's salary cuts, the cancellation of contractually agreed bonus payments and the reduction of days off after five working days are void.

The decision can have significant consequences because, as the Supreme Court has ruled that the “austerity measures” are void from the start, Ryanair flying employees are entitled to significant back payments. The USO union now wants to demand this on behalf of its members and, if necessary, take it to court again.

This is not the only case of this kind that the Spanish justice system is dealing with. The union is also suing its sister company Lauda, ​​which has a base in Palma de Mallorca. However, there is still no ruling from the highest court, so it remains to be seen how the Spanish judiciary will assess the Maltese airline's approach.