I've heard the rumours of Golden Handshakes, I can't confirm or deny it. The 5/4 4/4 is true, I have met a few Captains who have done it.
They are very desperate for Pilots. Their recruitment and training is an absolute shambles, its reactive, not proactive. There is no one with an overview of the whole situation, no one involved can see the wood from the trees, its just desperate fire fighting. They have numerous people rated but sitting at home waiting for checks because they have no sim time.
With an aircraft arriving at the rate of one a week what will happen in the next few months?