Can anybody fill us in on the contract being offered please?

Doobler, thanks for your reply - that's pretty much what I was thinking. Fingers, arms, legs and anything else I can move all crossed!

Nosmo, if you went to the selection you should be aware of the contract on offer?? :confused:

No I wasn't at the selection, just an interested by-stander, please see PM.

Been offered a fixed term position from March to October 2013 only or to remain in the hold pool for 2013.

Anyone else been offered this?

Fixed term position only? At Thomson? The industry really is in the shi**er right now - never thought Thomson would stop to temporary seasonal contracts...

It's for either LBA, CWL or NCL.

Fixed term position
 

I believe the fixed term positions are as a result an extra line of summer only flying out of Leeds next summer. This has resulted in a requirement for 10 plus pilots. Positions maybe at various bases not necessarily at Leeds only.
My advice would be to take the fixed term position if you do not have an alternative. I suspect a permanent contract would not be too far away .

Oceanhawk - that runs very much contrary to the information within Thomson Airways. The requirement for Pilots for Summer 14 is likely to be based on Thomson Airways Cadets (cheaper) only. These 737 fixed term contracts are to fill a short term hole only. Personally I'd avoid them if I had another option

So, the burning question - how many on each contract? Fixed and permanent? Or is that still subject to change?

Fixed term contracts.
 

Dogma,
Yes, my understanding is that they are to fill a short term requirement only for summer 2013. I had not thought about summer 2014 and more cadet pilots . As I said if you have a better alternative, go for it.
If however a pilot decided to take one of these positions, you are now a know commodity to the training department and probably no longer a training risk.
That's all I have to say.
Good luck.

Unfortunately these fixed term contracts are just that. Hold out for a permanent contract elsewhere, I know from a mate of mine up here that the Thomson Company Council feel very let down over this issue. It seems to have been very badly handled along with a lot else in recent times.

As Global says Good Luck !

I've been hold pooled.

I won't be accepting a fixed term contract as I can't afford to take the risk of not being handed a permanent contract at the end of the period.

What a barrell of ****. These positions were originally ALL permanent part time. Goal posts moved at the 90th minute by a management appearing desperate to employ contractors and/or Flexiscrew to get them through 6 months of a year. Who in their right mind would leave a permanent job for this sort of offer? Thomson management has a track record and they now appear to be showing their true colours, long before anyone has even started. No wonder the CC are peeved. They've been right royally fvcked over if this is true?

On a lesser note, the fixed term pilots will have an OCC course pro-rated to a value of £3500-£4000 however the guys getting permanent part time will be hit with 7K?

Actually the whole £7000 is deducted for the summer positions as well, not pro rata.

So basically around £1000 per month deducted, make of that what you will.

Surely nobody on a full time contract elsewhere will be tempted?

So despite agreeing PPY positions with the CC, now they are offering people only fixed term contracts, and expecting them to agree to a £7000 deduction for their own LPC/OPC & Line Trg? Since when were the costs of a quick couple of SOP sims, LPC and a few sectors of Line Trg when recruiting a TR'd guy not just the cost of doing business?!

Well done Thomson, a once respected and very fair company is now scraping the barrel along with the others... As bad as FR and easyJet soon.

Not quite true, I and at least 4 others I know have all been offered the original permanent PPY contract. There maybe more out there that have too, not sure on that though. There was mention at the assessment day that fixed term contract selection would happen later down the line, but the terms and conditions we were shown at the assessment was the original 50%PPY (81.5% salary, 2 on 2 off winter etc).

Confirming the fact that ALL these positions were originally PPY. Irregardless of whether you have been offered the original deal or have been shown a fixed term contract, it is only natural to be wary of Thomson's strategy. They appear to have side stepped their CC and apparently have placed those attending assessments under false pretences. Not good.

They won't end up with the numbers that they require for the summer. Guys on permanent BRK or Storm contacts at FR or 70% positions at Jet2 wouldn't leave for this. They'd be bonkers.

They wouldnt be the first airline in the UK to sell the idea of a permanent job at their recruitment/assessment day, only to change it to a fixed term or summer only contract at the very last minute... with the notion of a permanent job end of summer... which then doesnt happen.

Its very easy to get caught up in a nasty cycle of summer only fixed term contracts, year after year - and unemployed 7 months of the year. I personally would never leave a permanent job for any fixed term contract, no matter how good the airline, ever again :ugh: