Are Qantas Employee benefits too generous?

[Ewing]

He also had access to a company credit card which he called a green card which he used to shout his subordinates after work with dinner and drinks.

And I've had the same at past employers.

It's not as simple as it seems though. Every dollar I spent on my corporate card entertaining my staff required:

1) A report to corporate services listing the staff in attendance and the dollar spent. This was used to calculate FBT/etc.
2) Deducting the FBT inclusive amount from my department's available budget.

Personally as others have mentioned I don't believe QF staff benefits are any of our business. Airlines provide their staff with travel benefits, just like I've received other benefits from companies I've worked at.

In fact, I still receive benefits from a past employer where I worked for almost 10 years (I was the third longest serving employee when I left). It's a benefit that costs them very little to provide, but is still worth a not insubstantial amount of money at retail rates.

 

[UP4014]

And I've had the same at past employers.

It's not as simple as it seems though. Every dollar I spent on my corporate card entertaining my staff required:

1) A report to corporate services listing the staff in attendance and the dollar spent. This was used to calculate FBT/etc.
2) Deducting the FBT inclusive amount from my department's available budget.

Personally as others have mentioned I don't believe QF staff benefits are any of our business. Airlines provide their staff with travel benefits, just like I've received other benefits from companies I've worked at.

In fact, I still receive benefits from a past employer where I worked for almost 10 years (I was the third longest serving employee when I left). It's a benefit that costs them very little to provide, but is still worth a not insubstantial amount of money at retail rates.

agree plus 1

If people think it's so great they could go join them and reap the benefits, everyone seems to forget there is also work involved for those benefits. Anyone think Virgins staff benefits are too generous or REX for those holidays to Broken Hill.

I say good luck to the QF staff especially when it upset the precious ones here who need to get over it.

 

[N860CR]

My nephew and his best mate flew to London. His best mate (24) lives next door to a Qantas pilot and was given a free flight to London in first class, and he did take this flight as my nephew was booked on the same flight in economy. He is no relation to the Qantas employee, who has no children. We just thought lucky him. However his younger brother parents, whom I have known for 40 years, flew over to visit him (as he is now working in London). They too were given discounted seats in J through their neighbour. They do not work for Qantas.
I'm not sure how it all worked but I know we all just thought wow, wished we lived next door to the Qantas employee. These flights were about 18 months ago

... not even going to bother!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I was talking with a former "middle" manager at QF, who despite retirement still receives 90% off J travel and told me he will going to Europe next with his wife with QF/EK in J for only $800. His children also received free around the world trips before the age of 25.

I don't imagine he or his kids would get "free" anything unless he's referring to a long service ticket which an employee and their registered group A beneficiaries would receive when they'd done 10/15/20 years service but they would still be up for all the taxes.

Kids are not eligible for upgrades over 25 years of age & would drop back to Group B beneficiary which costs about twice as much as group A so I imagine that it would be much more attractive to purchase a regular airfare booked direct with the airline or through a travel agent that would at least accrue frequent flyer points & be confirmed.

Another person told me how he would get heavily discounted J travel with QF as his ex-wife worked for them. Even after the divorce he still could claim partner benefits and that a QF could change their "partner" 3 times a year.

He's not claiming 'partner benefits' being divorced but as an employee his ex-wife can choose who she wants to have as her group A companion (travel beneficiary) so it doesn't matter whether she nominates her ex-husband, her best friend, sister or cousin thrice removed but she can only choose one person plus her dependant children. Even a current spouse has to be a nominated travel beneficiary for staff travel, it's not something that's automatically given due to marital or relationship status.

This guy work for QF in the "old days" and was adamant he got 2 J fares to Europe for $800 p.p. and both fares have been ticketed.

As others have already said, just because he's had an eticket issued has absolutely no bearing on whether you will even get on a flight or whether you get an upgrade assuming you're eligible for one as it would be on a sub-load basis and as a retired staff member he would get a lower priority than current staff.

I don't believe these alleged recipients of staff travel quoted in previous posts on this thread would work in an operational role or at an airport because they've got stars in their eyes they're going to be sorely disappointed at some stage of the game.

IIRC there was someone who purchased a J DOM fare and selected seats near the front but got bumped back to the 3rd row (IIRC) because off duty FA's had taken seats near the front.

That's incorrect as they were never in a forward seat and 'bumped' further back.

The person was travelling on a paid J ticket paid for by their employer & pre-allocated themselves into 3A as at the time there rows 1 or 2 were not showing available for selection (she was QP) based on her tier status. When she got onboard she was outraged that 2 cabin crew travelling on duty travel had the audacity to be seated in front of her in row 2. The irony here is had the QP not pre-allocated 3A it's quite likely the crew would have ended up in 3AC & the QP may have been able to get a seat in the much coveted row 1 or 2.

 

[UP4014]

Well according to this blow hard he reckons he has connections in QF... etc etc etc.

Although I must confess I have met a few individuals that were in love with personal status within QF... Whether that was accurately reflected in reality!

Connections don't work in this regard. The consequences for this sort of favour are dismissal.

It's hearsay, take with a grain of salt.

 

[tuapekastar]

A friend booked and paid for a heavily discounted J ticket from AKL-MEL earlier this year via her brother who works at QF (I think it was ID90, he has worked there a long time), and when it came to flight time she was lucky to even get a seat in Y! And I asked her to check if she could use the QP (on the assumption she would fly J) and her brother gave an emphatic no - if she tried that there could have been some quite serious repercussions for him.

Many many years ago a couple of old family friends had to stay with us at our house in SIN a number of days after being offloaded from their flight home to MEL. They were AN employees on staff travel - they had run out of money, so no idea what they would have done had we not been there.

So I'm in the camp that says if you choose your flight times/routes carefully (low loads) and have plenty of time and money and a plan if you are offloaded, then it may a good thing, but very risky if you do not have all those. I have heard (someone may be able to confirm or deny) that there are repercussions if you are on staff travel and arrive back at work late (as in one or more days late) due to being offloaded as a result of being on said staff travel.