COMP NEWS – British airline EasyJet is sweetening the pot for prospective and existing employees by offering a £1,000 bonus this summer.

New and existing easyJet cabin crew will receive the bonus after the summer holiday season, which is expected to be extremely busy as the ending of travel restrictions in the UK has seen demand for holidays soar.

Many employees left the aviation industry when travel was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving airlines struggling to recruit.

The move also comes after EasyJet faced some scrutiny over the treatment of its existing employees, with some accusing the company of “bullying” its overworked staff.

EasyJet said last week that it planned to take out the back row of seats on some aircraft so they could fly with three cabin crew instead of four. Airlines are required by law to provide one member of cabin crew for every 50 seats, and removing a row would cut the number of passengers on board from 156 to 150.

The airline was recently accused of “corporate bullying” after sending an email to staff warning that current absence levels were “not sustainable going forward” and hinting that action might be taken where absence was deemed too high.

Other airlines are offering similar bonuses to attract and retain talent in a tight market for employees.

British Airways (BA) is also offering a £1,000 bonus to new cabin crew who complete their training before July. Both BA and easyJet have had to cancel flights because of staff shortages over the past few months, including over the busy Easter bank holiday weekend due to high levels of staff sickness.

To read more about EasyJet’s new employee bonuses, click here.

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