Would you work for nothing?

[Oneeyedvic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8102862.st m

British Airways is asking thousands of staff to work for nothing, for up to one month, to help the airline survive.

The appeal, sent by e-mail to more than 30,000 workers in the UK, asks them to volunteer for between one week and one month's unpaid leave, or unpaid work.

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has already agreed to work unpaid in July, forgoing his month's salary of �61,000.

Last month, BA posted a record annual loss of �401m, partly due to higher fuel bills and other costs.

Mr Walsh said BA's drive to save cash was part of a "fight for survival".

Would you work for nothing to try and 'save' the company that you work for?

*Self employed need not answer as it is taken as read :)

[marval]

I would if it was a guarantee my job was safe. I did once because my boss kept giving me a cheque that bounced. In the end the company went bust. But we had done all we could to save it.

[Haggisdj]

sqad617 - I work as a Systems Analyst in local government. We have just had a pay cut and another proportion of our wages moved to an Recruitment & Retention payment. This R&R payment can go at any time.

I cannot afford to work a month for nothing, as previously mentioned by others, I have a mortgage, etc. to pay.

[kinell]

As a teacher I would have no probelms working for nothing for a month,

after all I get paid for doing nothing for four months,

only fair to give a little back in these times.

[rov1200]

If people are flying less because of the recession you would expect BA to take a pay cut at least especially as they are the market leaders when it comes to pay.

[DSnewsKE]

BA has not exactly been a model employer these past couple of years, trying to cut wages and conditions by any underhand methods they could find. I'd tell them to get stuffed. Let Walsh and his shareholders carry the can for a change.

[JockSporran]

Why SHOULD anybody work for nothing? And anyway, how would they pay their bills and keep a house? How would they feed themselves and their families? Come on!

[socket2008]

Many companies have tried the 'work for nothing' idea. In my experience, the company usually ends up laying you off anyway.

Exactly where have the profits from previous years gone to? I hate it when companies who have made large profits in previous years then start laying people off or getting them to work for nothing because one year was bad.

As for BA themsleves, they are living on a long past reputation. I'm ashamed to say that they are even British.

[trt]

So how do I explain to my kids when there wont be any decent food on the table and no treats for a week or a month?

[zig.zag]

i'm working for nothing at the moment

anyone need anything?

[sqad617]

Haggisdj...point taken.

kinell...point taken.

Steve5.....in the past 12yrs, the poor have got poorer and the rich richer.

[icemaiden]

SInce posting my last answer I have since found out that BA are still paying overtime where overtime is available.

Would it not be a better idea to maybe reward people who work overtime with airmiles. So many airmiles per hour worked. Just a thought.

Someone mentioned that the loss would be spread over three to six months. So that means for six months my partner will be short on money instead of a month? Is that a better option?

The bottom line is if you can afford to go one month without a wage then fine, but like us, and no doubt lots of people, it cannot be done.

Regarding redundancy, If my partner is made redundant, we have a policy that will cover the mortgage for 12 months.
Worth it's weight in gold I say!