Does anyone know, if German Wings, offer sick pay? or was this a zero hour contract with no sick benefits. It has gone on long enough this, young guys saddled with debt, are being forced to fly as they will not get paid. Be it a head cold or more serious issues.
I can understand to take any opportunity to better the T&Cs in general. But in this case you are barking up the wrong tree. Not only was the flight training funded by Lufthansa (although he would have to pay back a portion once he got a job within Lufthansa, Germanwings is part of Lufthansa), his entry level pay was around 59k a year and yes, sick pay for up to six weeks is mandatory by law in germany and unionized carriers usually have longer periods depending of lenght of service for up to 9 months of sick pay. There is no repercussion to calling in sick. However, every pilot has to additionally be aware of Part-MED of the EASA regulation which could lead to being unfit to fly for a prolonged period of time.