Ryanair decides where you are based, so that could be somewhere far away from where your family lives. It happens to more pilots because there's not always an airport in your backyard with your employer's aircraft sitting on the tarmac waiting for you to show up...
But as being said, Ryanair pilots (contracters) only get paid when they fly. So if they are send to some sh*th*le for some SBY's, than they won't get a penny... But in the meantime they are expected to pay for all their expenses. So you end up in a self-paid hotelroom waiting for a call. To only good thing is that pilots are allowed to travel for free on Ryanair flights when wearing a uniform.
I do not work for Ryanair but I do fly low-cost and I don't get paid when doing SBY's for my company. However, I live 15 minutes away from my preferred base and can maintain a social live while waiting for a call. Furthermore our union only allows us to do 3 SBY's a month, so that means on other days I should be planned for duty or otherwise get OFF. And if they need pilots (SBY's) at another base, they pay the shortest possible proceeding (extra payment), hotel and 54 euro per day for food and drinks. And furthermore I get a basic salary that is comparable with legacy's... My company appreciates its pilots and we are all very highly motivated to give our company it's profit its deserves!!
As you might imagine we are very 'expensive' for our low-cost company. But that's only because they compare our T&C's with Ryanair's.... But if you compare it with the TOTAL COST of our operation, our salaries are hardly noticeable. I arrived in this luxury situation because my previous colleagues (who are almost retiring) were in a union and fought hard to maintain their T&C's.
But the problem in this world of marginal profits is that in the end our competitors are 'cheaper' because their pilots are willing to bend more forward than others....
So yes, it is in EVERYBODY's interest to stop these deteriorating T&C's at Ryanair and other companies. Not because a lousy union from the middle ages says so, no because all pilots are affected by this situation....