Part 3:
A: Warning signs:
Being unable to see a copy of your contract – or find out your exact terms and conditions of employment / promised base, etc. (in writing) - before starting training.
What puts you at most risk: being in debt, young, timid, unable to leave Ryanair for any reason.
B: Things to make you stop and think:
1. The contract you were sent differs from the verbal terms outlined to you at interview.
2. You are a low time pilot anxious for your first airline job.
3. You have existing debts due to your ab initio training.
4. You do not have a type rating and no period / date has been specified within which type rating and line training will be completed.
5. You are relying on second hand or verbal promises regarding your terms and conditions of employment with Ryanair.
6. Key dates, such as when you will be considered to have started employment, are not explicit in documentation (in Ryanair you might be working for them for a long period before they consider you to have commenced “permanent” employment. This has consequences for pay and promotion).
7. You are expected to contract to a third party training company for B737 training.
8. You are going to borrow money, based on expected earnings, to pay for the B737 training.
9. You have not been told, in writing, when your “Basic Pay” will start.
10. You have not been told, in writing, the actual sector pay that will apply to you and when it will become the full rate.
11. You do not have savings to cover unexpected delays – which could be several months - between the end of your simulator training and when you first get paid.
12. You have started your type training, line training or line operations while awaiting your final contract.
13. You have just discovered that the terms you expected are not the terms outlined in your contract, but feel committed to accept a position with Ryanair for some reason.
14. Your contract refers to a period on half sector pay for a period after you start line training. (As the due date has been referred to on several occasions by Ryanair as “a mistake”, it is important to check before you sign that the date/period involved is correct; the period on half sector pay is extended when this “mistake” happens).
15. You have asked existing pilots about a problem which has arisen since you commenced employment and they advised you not to complain about your situation.
16. You have calculated an expected annual salary based on figures supplied to you verbally regarding monthly income.
17. You have been told about things that are tempting, but not very clear as to how they work. For example, you have been told about very high value “share options” held by pilots and think these will automatically apply to you. You do not clarify the circumstances in which you lose any entitlement to such options.
In summary: You must ensure that you know what you are agreeing to. At a minimum you should ensure that Ryanair make your Terms and Conditions very clear, before you commence employment, before you incur any debts or you sign any interim documents (such as a contract with intermediate training organisations). That means obtaining a written copy of your terms and conditions of employment and being provided with an indication of how your date of entry and any automatic promotions/salary increases will be determined.
We strongly advise that you make and keep contemporaneous notes about any verbal undertakings from Ryanair representatives regarding your terms and conditions.
If a prospective employer cannot, or will not, supply such information in advance, then there is not a lot more to be said other than to point out that this suggests at least a degree of future risk.
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