Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - Uncle G. How many times have you been told to stop thinking logically. I mean, that would actually be of benefit to someone, and we can't have that.
I remember once in my illustrious career qualifying for substitution pay. MOD fought tooth and nail to avoid paying until my then boss gave someone a blast. It got paid shortly afterwards [backdated].
Back to Uncle G's suggestion. Brilliant idea, but isn't there a teenzy weenzy chance they are using undermanning to SAVE money?
Only once did I ever hear that decisions ARE to be made to the benefit of the individual [CinC STC - can't remember which one, though].