The daa, which manages Dublin and Cork Airports, has revealed plans for voluntary severance, career breaks and work practice reforms in a bid to address the collapse in passenger numbers and revenue due to the Covid-19 virus.
In a bulletin to staff, Chief Executive Dalton Philips said the company has no option but to make very significant cost savings in every area of the business - by cutting all non-pay costs, reviewing capital spending, introducing new ways of working and "re-sizing" the company to bring it more in line with lower expected passenger traffic in the medium term.
He told staff that depending on their length of service, they may be eligible for three options: voluntary severance, a career break, or reduced hours working - but cautions that all options are subject to sanction by the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport.
Staff with less than one year's service on 31 July 2020 will be eligible for Reduced Hours Working only.
Those with at least one year's continuous service on that date will be eligible for either a career break or reduced hours working, while only personnel with at least four years' continuous service on that date will qualify for one of all three options of Voluntary Severance, a career break or reduced hours working.
The value of the Voluntary Severance Scheme package will depend on age and length of service.
Those under 60 will get a lump sum of four weeks pay per year of service plus statutory redundancy. A €10,000 lump sum payment for educational support or re-skilling may also be available, with the total lump sum payment capped at two years (104 weeks) pay.
Those aged between 60 and 65 will get a lump sum equating to four weeks pay per year of service, plus statutory redundancy. Again there may be a €10,000 lump sum payment for educational support or re-skilling.
"In this case, the 104 weeks' pay cap applies with an overall cap of 50% of basic pay between now and your normal retirement date inclusive of a lump sum, statutory payment and educational support," Mr Philips writes.
Employees aged between 50 and 59 with over 15 years service can receive a lump sum payment now, leave, and continue to be paid up to one third of salary until their normal retirement date.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Staff aged 50 to 54 can receive a lump sum of one years' basic pay and will continue to be paid up to one-third of their salary until their normal retirement date.
Those aged between 55 and 59 can receive a lump sum of two years' basic pay and will continue to be paid up to one-third of their salary until their normal retirement date.
The board approved the options last Friday, and the terms are in line with a previous package in 2012 - but Mr Philips stresses that any decisions will be subject to eligibility and business requirements.
Under the career break option, staff can apply for a break of one-five years duration during which they will receive a portion of their normal salary.
"Under the Career Break option, you will continue to be paid a portion of your daa salary even if you take another job - and your connection with the company is maintained throughout the entire period," Mr Philips said.
He stresses that there will be a position for them at the daa when they return on an agreed future date, adding that this option may allow them to study, learn new skills, travel or enhance work life balance while still receiving payments from the company.
If the career break is for less than two years, the worker will receive 20% of their annual base pay.
Where the career break lasts three, four or five years, the employee will be paid 50% of their annual base pay from the day they leave until the end of 2020, and will be paid 20% of their annual pay after that.
Staff will be written to individually giving details of the options applicable to them, including an estimate of their severance package where applicable.
They must confirm whether they are interested in applying for any of the options by 17 June.
Mr Philips also outlines reforms to the way staff will work to boost efficiency and safety - including working in teams, flexibility as to working locations, roles, responsibilities and rosters , and cleaning their own workplaces.
He notes that with over 20 rosters in operation across the business, they will need to be simplified and aligned to meet business needs.
