bypass pay
jonathon, good post!
Parrabellum, I can answer your first question. Unlike SOs, all FOs are entitled or qualified for bypass pay UNLESS they are cat D. I know of some FOs who have been getting bypass for years as they wait for a chance to be reassessed from C/B to A.
As to the second question, I believe if you were meant to get it you keep it till you are no longer qualified. I have heard some 'urban legends' of people having to repay bypass - if this has happened please post here or PM me. In the past CX has been pretty rigorous in paying it to whom it believes is entitled to it.
I think the urgan legends have originated from CX delaying paying bypass pay until it knows who is entitled to it. This would occur if more candidates are on command course than there are extendees. This would happen quite often as most of the extendee entitled FOs on bypass pay could be cat B or C leaving only a few extendees generating bypass pay for current command upgrades.
Choosing a later course over an earlier course CX interprets as the candidate not being entitled to bypass pay between the course dates, even though that is not strictly iaw our CoS. Before you rant and rave about this think about based FOs who stay as FOs for lifestyle. Should they get command bypass pay if they have deliberately knocked back a Hong Kong command course? The CX view is that any voluntary delay to your command removes your eligibility to bypass pay until your actual command course start date!
I believe the same principle is applied for SO to FO upgrades. As far as I am aware, SOs can choose to upgrade on whatever course they want. Where the disputes arises is from the availability of 'long' or 'short' courses. This is not in the principle or intent of bypass pay, IMO, but as long as some SO is getting bypass pay the aircrew body as a whole hasn't suffered pecuniary loss. The wording is vague enough to allow much latitude in how CX interprets the bypass pay provision. With pilots likely to get up to a year or so of FO bypass pay and up to 3-5 years of command bypass pay, for the most affected, it is definitely a section of our CoS that needs to be cleared up and made transparent!
Clear as mud?