positioning
Reading this thread it seems there is some confusion over the use of the word positioning.
If you are based in Bergamo but live in Luton then traveling to work is just that, it is not positioning, your not on duty,its not duty and you should be on board your employers aircraft (contractor or directly employed) as a ticketed passenger, that may be standby or firm.
What you cannot do in the UK is to turn up on a day off and use your airside pass to gain access to airside to turn up at the gate and ask the gate staff to put you on the flight, this would be in breech of the conditions of your airside pass. I do not doubt that this is going on, but that doesn't make it legal or right.
At Norwegian, also an Irish registered airline many pilots face the same situation of living in one country and working in another, Norwegian's solution is much simpler and transparent, all flight deck and some approved cabin crew can text their staff code and the flight on which they wish to travel and an automated system responds within about 10 seconds with a booking reference (called an S2 ticket) you then check in the same as any normal passenger, again this is not duty travel, you are not on duty and yes some use this then operate, but thats no different to catching the train to work and certainly less stressful than driving, you are allowed to occupy jumps seats both cabin and flight deck if the cabin is full. My understanding is that because this is NOT a leisure ticket and is to be used only for self positioning BEFORE OR AFTER DUTY then it does not attract APD
From time to time we also have to work from other than our home base, this is at the behest of the company and counts in full as duty time and must comply with FTL, the company rosters the positioning flight with a firm ticket,provides HOTAC, and all ground transport to from the hotel, the report time is STD - 1hour and counts in full as duty time, minimum rest normally 12 hours can be reduced to 10 hours in a hotel
So if people are turning up at the gate on days off having got there without a ticket by using staff ID channels, then i would suggest that they are in breech of many rules governing the issuance of airside passes, what they are doing is a crime and punishable as such.
Of course some will say its the last perk we have!! i disagree its black and white, it may allow people to have some sort of life whilst working in one country and living in another, but that does not make it right and your employer is complicit in allowing this practice to continue, clearly there are simple alternatives to achieve the same end as demonstrated by the Norwegian S2 ticket system, this keeps everyone legal and once set up the cost to the employer is close to zero.