Originally Posted by
peekay4
EASA ATPL(A) requires a minimum of 1,500 flight time hours including 500 hours in multi-pilot operations.
Indeed, but those hours are built on the job in the right hand seat.
The ATPL is not REQUIRED until you want to move to the LH seat.
Incidentally, there are a few gotchas in building those multipilot hours, for example the DHC6 Twotter is most often flown with 2 pilots but it is certificated for single pilot operation so those hours may not count, depending on the jurisdiction, the phase of the moon and the jobsworth credentials of the guy checking qualifications.