At the beginning of the month news came out revealing that Ryanair had refused to give an employee his holiday pay after being fired. Today, after the employee pursued legal action against the airline, Ryanair will have to pay the holiday and Christmas allowances to the former employee who was “fired without cause”.
The decision was handed down by the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
The court upheld the worker’s position and ordered the Irish company to pay all the holiday and Christmas allowances that had been due since the beginning of the employment contract. "After several years of advances and setbacks, Ryanair/Crewlink cabin crew members operating in Portugal will finally begin to see their rights recognized, even if only after resorting to the courts, so that they are respected by the Irish company", underlines the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC), in a statement sent to newsrooms.
The SNPVAC also adds that after "a series of violations in management matters, the airline was finally forced to respect the legislation in place in Portugal". The SNPVAC obtained several favourable opinions and support from the Commission for Equality in Work and Employment regarding this matter. In the statement, the SNPVAC accused Ryanair of having continued to disrespect Portuguese law.
According to the union, the Irish company “despite having signed a protocol in November 2018 with the SNPVAC, in which it recognized the mandatory application of Portuguese law and having assumed full commitment, in practice little or no changes have been verified”.
According to the union, Ryanair “opted for a policy of oppression towards its employees, promoting a series of unfair dismissals” and created “a policy of fear and true harassment within the company”.
