So the guys could be sat at home earning nothing.
Or they could be earning £130 a day (which I may add is more than some TP FO's I know) and getting HOTAC in Gatwick with a load of other FO's in a similar situation. In the knowledge that come the summer season they will be back in the RHS. Apart from loosing there medicals with a nasty dose of an STD I can't see where they can go wrong.
I really can't see a problem with this at all. In fact it seems a remarkably sensible solution for any airline management to come up with. If they take the piss though and keep them current and use them in dual roles as FC and CC and pay them depending which job they are doing
The pay to fly schemes I agree 100% with the comments made. Its a cancer in this industry.