Retainers

[The Flying Stool]

Hi guys,

Could anybody give me any guidance on retainers for UK based Flight Instructors? I'm aware that the current hourly rate for an Fi is around £15-£25 per hour but I know of one school that pays a retainer in addition to the flight pay. I'm unable to find any further information however. Can anybody shed and light on the going rate?

Thanks

[portsharbourflyer]

I would be very surprised if any one is paying more than a £30 a day retainer. And to my knowledge very few schools at the PPL level pay any retainer these days.

When I did instruct full time I did get a 50 a day retainer, but that was some time back and exceptionally good at the time. It is noted that school also went out of business some time back as well.

[RTN11]

I've worked at several schools.

Most offer no retainer

One offered a £15 retainer, but then a lower hourly rate, so if you flew more than 2 hours a day you were better off on their non-retainer hourly rate

And one school I worked for was simply hourly rate, but if you didn't manage at least 40 hours a month they'd still pay you as if you had, so it really helped you budget in the winter months when you might only get 20-30 hours due to the weather. It took the pressure off to fly in literally anything you could just to earn some money.

[Esperanza]

I get a £30 retainer, £20 per hour flying and £15 per hour for ground school.
I had to really search around for my current job. When I last looked in 2004 so many schools were offering similar pay to what I was getting as an AFI in the mid-1990s.