Thomas Cook cabin crew forced to visit food banks and borrow cash after final wages aren’t paid
THOMAS COOK staff have been forced to visit food banks and borrow money after missing out on final wages from the travel firm after its collapse last week.
Mum-of-two Lyndsey Dodds, 41, has worked as cabin crew for the holiday company for over 15 years, along with her husband who worked as a pilot.
The couple, who live in West Sussex, have visited food banks in order to feed their children, 9, and 3, in the wake of the firm's collapse.
Lyndsey and her husband were expecting £6,000 collectively from Thomas Cook.
But they’ve now had to borrow money from Lyndsey's parents to pay their mortgage, or the family would have risked losing their home.
“It’s affected us dramatically,” she told The Sun.
“We haven’t got any income now, we have nothing – they took everything away from us.
“I had to borrow from my parents otherwise we would have defaulted on our mortgage.”
Lyndsey says she’s also applied for Universal Credit but claims she won’t know if she’s entitled and how much money she’ll get until the end of October.
The family are seeking financial support as they don't have savings to fall back on.
Lyndsey also expressed fears for her ex-Thomas Cook colleagues and said the stress of losing jobs is impacting people’s mental health.
She said: “If we’re not hearing from any of our ex-Thomas Cook family, we’re having to check they’re ok because this is affecting their mental and physical health.
“It’s also impacting our children and family who are trying to help.”
Another ex-member of Thomas Cook cabin crew told us how she’s had to accept £500 offered from her friend to cover the £1,000 she needs for her mortgage and bills.
The 37-year-old says she’s owed £2,000 from her last wages but hasn’t heard a word from Thomas Cook, leaving her struggling to eat.
She told The Sun: “I’m nearly 38 years old and all I’ve had to eat today is a banana.
“No one has come forward to help me. I was made redundant on September 23 and I can’t get an appointment to sign on and for Universal Credit until October 3.
“It’s hard when you’ve worked six weeks and not got any money from it.
“I’ve got a house to pay for. I’ve had to ask my family to borrow, my friends have also been very helpful and have offered.”
What to do if you’re a Thomas Cook worker and you’ve been made redundant
AROUND 6,000 Thomas Cook workers were made redundant last week following the announcement that the travel group had collapsed.
The rest of the 9,000 members of staff who worked in the UK are being kept on at the moment to help with the repatriation programme.
It’s unclear what their position will be once all remaining stranded holidaymakers are brought back home.
If you’ve already been made redundant, here’s the advice that’s been given out by The Insolvency Service.
If you worked for Thomas Cook's airline or one of its tour operators, you'll need to approach consultancy firm AlixPartners for further information about how to make a claim via their dedicated website at or contact them via email at [email protected].
You’ll get a case reference number which you’ll need to keep hold of so you can .
If you worked for Thomas Cook’s retail or aircraft maintenance arm, you should approach KPMG for further information about how to make a claim by emailing [email protected].
On average, the Insolvency Service aims to pay out within 14 working days - but you'll need to provide information to support your claim first.
You can apply for redundancy and other payments in regards to wage arrears if you:
- Worked for Thomas Cook for at least two years, then you can apply for redundancy
- Worked for Thomas Cook for at least one month, then you can apply for statutory pay
- Have pro rata holiday pay remaining
- Are still owed money from Thomas Cook, for example through unpaid wages or overtime work
More information can be found on the website.
The staff member, who worked for Thomas Cook for 18 months as a member of cabin crew and lives in Manchester, added that she hasn’t been able to get an appointment at her local JobCentre yet, so isn’t getting any benefits.
She went on to accuse the now-defunct travel firm of “forgetting” about their UK staff.
She said the only communication she’s had is a generic statement from CEO Paul Fankhauser and chief of product and operations Chris Mottershead.
She added: “We as cabin crew did pay a lot of tax and we’re getting no help.
“Thomas Cook employed a lot of people from the same family, husbands and wives, and they’re really struggling.”
Around 9,000 people worked for Thomas Cook in the UK when a last-minute rescue deal collapsed last week.
Dozens of former employees took to the streets of Manchester yesterday to protest outside the Conservative Party conference.
Union group Unite estimates many workers are owed up to SEVEN weeks pay.
Unite regional officer Jamie Major said: “Thomas Cook staff are rightly angry about how they have been treated in being made redundant without warning.
“Unite will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that our members receive every penny they are entitled to.”
Britain Strutton, from the The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), said: “This is adding insult to injury.
“It’s awful enough for staff members to have lost their jobs overnight but to not receive salary for the work already done is absolutely disgraceful.”
It comes after Thomas Cook boss Paul Fankhauser was forced to deny he was a “fat cat” despite raking in £8.3million.
Thomas Cook staff are planning another protest outside Parliament tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Unite said they’re hosting a meeting for members who worked at Gatwick Airport on Thursday October 3.
The union group
The Insolvency Service - who are dealing with Thomas Cook press enquiries - confirmed 6,002 Thomas Cook staff have been made redundant, as of September 25.
Employees who have lost their jobs are advised to make a claim to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service for arrears of wages.
More information can be found on the .
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