The procedures to book EK standbys are a long winded but no more so than when I worked for other airlines and wanted EK standby. You can't just decide to jump on a flight somewhere you need 2-3 days to process it all, once your listed its easy to change listings for the same route.
FZ pilots are allowed to book premium standby tickets (J class travel), if you book this ticket you become a higher priority than the VAST amount of emirates employees, DNATA etc. who are not allowed to list in J class.
I agree with pole shift that staff travel on FZ is a joke but the access to unlimited EK standbys keeps most of us happy....ish