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.
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 TCemployees@kpmg.co.uk.
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 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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