Transavia has to pay €670,000 for treating student interns as full-time staff

The Dutch Labor Inspectorate has ordered Transavia to pay 623,000 euros for using 60 interns as full-time employees without paying them as such. The Inspectorate fined the KLM subsidiary 46,000 euros. The rest of the amount is back pay and allowances for the affected students.

The Inspectorate started investigating the airline last year after receiving several reports of students being treated unfairly. It found that Transavia was treating 60 students from five different vocational institutions as full-time employees without compensating them fairly between February and June 2022.

The interns had the same duties, responsibilities, and work schedules as flight attendants but only got intern-level compensation. “There was an employment relationship, and the students were underpaid,” the Inspectorate said.

The Labor Inspectorate also met with various vocational educational institutions and the Education Inspectorate to make it clear that interns can’t work as full-time employees. “The learning aspect must be central” during the internships, the Labor Inspectorate said.

Transavia told NOS that it had expected the fine, which has now been paid. A spokesperson said, “We are happy that there is a line under the matter and look to the future with confidence.”