"but if it always was late by say the 17th, then surly you just work on 17th as your pay day and if it comes early hey ho?
after all surly pilots are cleaver people and have a little cash reserve and dont run out the day before pay day!!! thats a pretty weak problem in the scheme of things."
David, I find that statement amazing! You obviously are not running your company properly. What your saying is like going into a shop and buying something, and then saying, "the money will turn up in your account at some point, but I am taking my TV now thanks". If you were a builder working on a job you wouldn't do all the work on someone's house and without getting any money in advance, and you certainly wouldn't continue working on a project where the person paying you is late. You would stop working until payment is received.
This is a right you have, and you can excercise. The problem is when you finally do get paid, (well after the contract date states - Brookfield breaching contract), and you excercise the right as a company to charge and impose interest and fines on late payments, then you might find there is no requirement for your services anymore, or you spend the rest of your BRK/FR job on standby. This may not be particularly fair, (and in theory you can work for someone else during this time as long as you can make it to the airport IF called within the agreed hour), but it does happen and you dont have a leg to stand on. The contract says you should "expect" a certain number of standby days, as shown rescently they can give you as many as they want. Stansted based pilots have been working as little as 6-8 days per month.
And don't think you fall into the same catagorey as employed pilots as where if they were to employ anyone to do your job after letting you go, then you can sue on unfair dismisal.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of not getting paid until Ryanair have Paid Brookfield, that just doesn't cut it. You are not employed by Ryanair, and therefore when they pay Brookfield is nothing to do with you. You are contracted to be paid by BRK, and therefore if they are late paying, then they are resposible. The rules on where responsability and liability for none payment lie are very clear.
To make it simple, you get paid late by work, and you dont pay your phone bill. Who's problem is it? You cant tell the phone people, "Sorry, work didnt pay me". They will just cut you off until you pay. It is your responsibility to pay the bill as your name is on the contract with the phone company. Exactly the same as BRK and you.