Snr
It may seem fair but in the grand scheme of things when there is a downturn and money is tight will the company honour the agreement they signed with you when they employed you, most likely not.
To them it’s just business and you knew the risks of becoming a pilot in a very volatile industry. In other words they are looking after their best interests and the company.
Well a pilots company is himself and his family. When opportunity arrives to look after their best interests they like the company have every right to do so.
You can’t bring the moral argument against the pilot but not the company when they let people go for business reasons, works both ways.
Your company does not charge newly hired inexperienced guys because they cannot afford to hire the typed experience guys so they really have no choice as they can’t get pilots otherwise.
So factor in ALL COSTS including a type rating before hiring in the event you lose a guy early but if your T&C’s are good enough 95% will prolly do their 3 years as they know they need proper experience before going anywhere else like a major airline.
Imagine I open a Sushi restaurant and I tell the chef I’m bonding him for 3 years for using the kitchen because he has no real world experience and I put him thru a specialized Japanese sushi course.
I chose to open the restaurant knowing the risks involved and am responsible for factoring in all costs. It’s not the chefs fault I go bankrupt because I did not hire or could not afford an experienced Sushi chef so went the cheap route and got an inexperienced guy..
Then Gordon Ramsay opens up across the road and with a lot more money offers this guy a job in a restaurant that is going to do wonders for his career and he takes it because he is married and has 2 small children to support.
Can you really blame the young chef for grabbing a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The end result for the first restaurant owner all boils down to the fact he never factored in the costs of doing business and what happens if he loses his chef. Knowing this if your argument is well it’s then too risky to give these young guys a chance then hire experienced guys but be prepared to stump up the cash and good benefits.
Either way it’s going to cost you and you still need to factor in all of these expenses. Pay for type ratings with lower salaries or get experienced typed guys and end up paying a lot higher salaries (more than the cost of a TR) but either way....
It is the cost of doing business and there is no way around it.
Your business costs are not the responsibility of the pilot nor are they his concern. You knew the risks and if you could not afford it or never planned properly that is your problem and yours alone. It is simply business.