Q01: Can British Airways help when former staff experience financial hardship?
The British Airways Welfare and Benevolent Trust is a charitable trust set up to alleviate hardship and improve the quality of life of current and former employees and their dependants. Help is only available on a ‘once-off’ basis, ongoing support such as an income top-up is not possible. Help may be in the form of money, goods or services.
The application process is strictly confidential, all applicants will be visited by a BA appointed case-worker who will complete the means-test application form with the applicant, and it will be neccessary to provide at least two quotes for the cost of each of the items of services for which help is sought.
Once the formailties are complete the application will be reviewed, on its individual merits, by a group of six Trustees. Normally Trustees meet to review applications every second month, however in an emergency there is an interim review process which can be used to arrange more urgent consideration.
For further information please visit the ‘Welfare and Benevolent’ section of this website
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Q02: How do I notify British Airways of changes to my personal details?
If you are in receipt of a BA pension you should advise all changes in writing to BA Pensions and they will then pass the new details through to BA Staff Travel & BA Former Staff Support.
If you have staff travel concessions but are not in receipt of a BA pension you can update your details through Employee Self Service on my.baplc.com … from the home page select Concessionsonline on the list of shortcuts then select ‘update Personal Details’ – any information in a white box can be updated and once you have made your changes click on Submit.
There is a 24 hour delay until the updated details show in your staff travel booking list.
NB. If you subscribe to BA Clubs, Up to Speed, or any BA affiliated social group such as the Retired Staff Association, you will need to advise changes to them directly as for data protection security BA will not forward details of changes on to them.
Q03: How do I apply for a retired or former staff id card?
To qualify for a Retired or Former Staff ID Card you must have active staff travel concessions, as the purpose of the card is solely for identification when using staff travel. To qualify for a Retired ID Card you must also to be in receipt of a BA Pension or aged 55 +.
You can apply for a new card or renew / replace an existing card that has expired, is lost or has been stolen, or where the photo on the card is no longer a true likeness.
You will need to download, print & complete the ID Card Application form.
You can download a form from this website, from the home page select Help > Forms where you will find the form together with instructions for completion.
Completed forms should be sent to :-
British Airways Plc
People Services
Australasia GA
Waterside
PO Box 365
Harmondsworth
UB7 0GB
NB. You will need to enclose an up to date passport style photo, and if you are renewing or replacing an old former / retired ID card you must return the original card with the application.
If the original card is lost you will need to enclose a letter to that effect.
If you are not returning an old pass you can alternatively raise an online request via ‘Ask A Question‘ on my.baplc.com in which case you will need to attach a digital photo which must be jpeg format.
The form will be authorised & forwarded to the Pass Issue Unit for processing, & your new Card will be posted to you, normally within 14 days although in peak times it can take up to 6 weeks.
To check the progress of your application or report non-receipt you can email pass-issue.1.unit@ba.com.
You can alternatively visit your nearest ID Pass Issue Unit in person to get a new pass, however you will first need to contact People Services at the address above to ask them to fax prior authorisation to the nominated Pass Issue Office.
Address details for Pass Issue Offices are as follows :-
Gatwick :-
British Airways Plc, ID Unit, Hanger 6 Gate 3, South Perimeter Road, Gatwick, RH6 0PQ
Heathrow :-
Vanguard House, Vanguard Way, London Heathrow Airport, Hounslow, TW6 2JA
Q04: I am a BA Pensioner but my ID card says former’ staff, can I get a ‘retired’ id card?
If you meet the qualifying criteria, ie have staff travel concessions & are in receipt of a BA Pension or aged 55 plus, you can apply for a Retired ID card using the process detailed in Q8 above. You will need to return your ‘former staff’ id card with the application.
NB If your former staff ID card is more than 3 years old you will also need to enclose an up to date ‘passport-style’ photo.
Q05: What is Employee Self Service and how do I access it?
To use Employee Self Service you will need to log on to the my.baplc.com website.
Only former staff with active staff travel concessions are able to log on to this website, as the primary purpose of the site is to facilitate online Staff Travel administration and booking.
To access the website google ‘my.bapc.com’ and enter a valid User ID and Password into the login screen.
A valid User ID is one that is registered to a staff / former staff member with Staff Travel eligibility.
If you are able to logon successfully you will see a menu of Self Service options which include booking Staff Travel on BA and other airlines, booking Hotline flights and holidays, updating your personal details and nominations for staff travel, online check-in, and viewing embargo information and Frequently Asked Questions.
If you do not enter a valid User ID and Password you will be denied access.
Q06: What are my User ID and Password?
Your User ID is your staff / pension number prefixed with ‘u’ (lower case) and any leading zeros should be excluded eg staff number 012345 would be user id u12345
You can obtain a Password by calling IT Support on +44 208 562 4000, the line operates 24 x 7.
When you acces the website for the first time you will be prompted to choose another password and enter it twice, then set up some security information. The newly entered password will then become your ‘Bsafe Password’ & will last for the next 90 days (all passwords expire after 90 days) when you will be prompted to choose another new password, and so on.
If you subsequently forget your password you can reset it online without the need to call ITS provided you have set up your security questions… see Q16 below
Q07: How do I set up or change my security questions?
Setting up the security questions means that if you forget your BSAFE password you will be able to renew it yourself online by following the ‘don’t know your password’ link on the BSAFE login screen, wheras if you haven’t set up the security questions you would need to call ITSC to reset the password.
When you set up the security information you have to choose 7 from a list of 20 questions – the questions have been selected to be easy to remember as they are historical therefore the answers will not change, e.g. name of first school, mothers birth place, etc. However the answers to each of the 7 questions must be different, so avoid questions that would have the same answer.
Also the answers don’t have to be true, so if you dont know the answers to you can make them up, but its important that you remember the answers given as, if you forget your password in the future you will not be able to reset it, either online or by phone, unless you answer all 7 questions correctly.
Tips
- Write down the answers exactly as you have entered them in and keep this in a safe place
- Answers are not case sensitive and spaces are ignored so if you set the answer for your first school as “Greyfriars” you can later answer as “greyfriars” “grey friars” “grey Friars” , as they will all be accepted. However if the answer was St John’s, if you subsequently answer as St Johns or Saint John’s both would be rejected as incorrect answers
- You only have to set your questions once, but you can elect to change them at any time if you want to make them easier to remember.
Q08: What happens if I forget my password?
If, having set up your password you subsequently forget it, as long as you have set up your security questions you can reset it yourself online, just follow the ‘don’t know your password’ link ….
… otherwise call ITS on 0208 562 4000 and they will reset the password for you provided you can answer their security questions correctly.
Q09: Where can I find the information I need regarding staff travel or other Employee Self Service (ESS) procedures?
You can find information on all ESS topics, including hown to how to use the online booking system for staff travel, by selecting the ‘Former Staff FAQs’ option, listed under Helpdesks on the home page of my.baplc.com – just enter the topic in question into the search box and the information will be displayed on the screen.
Q10: I believe I have eligibility for staff travel as former staff, how do I get started?
Staff Travel can only be booked online and to get access to the self service booking system and the supporting databases and procedural information you will need to have access to my.baplc.com as per Q5 /6/7 above.
If IT Support are unable to give you a password because your staff number is not in the system you should email the Staff Travel team at former.staff@ba.com quoting your staff number and service details, & they will check your eligibility.
Q11: I am a widow/er of a former staff member and am eligible to staff travel concessions, can I apply for staff travel tickets online?
Yes, you can… in fact this is the only way to make a booking, and to access the booking system you will need to get a BSAFE password as per Q6 above.
Q12: Can widows/ers of a former staff member who are eligible to staff travel concessions apply for an id card?
Currently British Airways does not issue a photo id card to widows and widowers of former staff.
Q13: As a former employee not eligible for staff travel concessions, can I book Hotline tickets ?
Booking Hotline through my.baplc.com is restricted to staff & former staff & their widows/widowers with active staff travel concessions. However former staff who served a minimum of 10 years & are no longer eligible for staff travel concessions can subscribe to the BA Clubs Former Staff Hotline programme by registering on the www.hotline-baclubs.co.uk website, see the www.baclubs.co.uk website for more information.
Q14: Is Hotline restricted to just staff travel nominees?
If you are eligible to book Hotline via ESS on my.baplc.com you can view information regarding eligibility & restrictions by selecting the Former Staff FAQs link on the home page then entering ‘I’m retired staff, can I make a Hotline booking’, otherwise you will find details of eligibility & restrictions relating to the BA Clubs Former Staff Hotline programme by visiting www.baclubs.co.uk
Q15: Are former staff eligible for Cargo concessions?
Staff and former staff with active staff travel concessions may be eligible for a concessional cargo rate on certain routes. Please refer to the FAQ on my.baplc.com for further information.
Q16: My date of joining is wrong in my booking, how can I correct it?
No need, the date of joining that is shown for former staff in the staff travel system is not the actual joining date but a calculated date that represents the length of service. This date is called the notional date of joining (NDOJ)
When staff leave they no longer accrue service therefore their total number of days of service are calculated from their actual start date with the Company up to their leaving date, and this is then deducted from the date the on which the booking is made to give a notional joining date that can be prioritised against that of other former staff standing by for the same flight.
Thus the NDOJ changes each time you make a booking (moving forward in time), however it will always reflect your total length of service accurately.
Q17: As former staff can I get an employment reference from British Airways?
It is not British Airways policy to provide personal references for former staff however on request an Employment Summary Reference confirming service details and last position can be obtained by emailing reference@email.ba.com. The request must include: your full name, staff number, National Insurance number, the reply postal address and telephone number as failure to include this information will delay the reference being sent .