Hi all,

Sorry to jump off the topic a litlle, How do you actually apply for the Brokfield F/O contract.

Cheers in advance

You'd need to do the Ryanair pilot selection which costs £260. Apply through CAE and join a queue of apparently 500.

If you have experience on type as an FO then forget it.

Thats amazing I had 2 six day weeks this month alone, and have been doing 4-5 days a week all year!

Also those cadets being let go during training...? Maybe there was a reason they were let go? This is a big airplane full of people after all....:}

Average in our base and all our pilots can see the whole base roster as its posted up.

3 Standbys per shift per F/O

Fancy sharing the base name?

The professionals the contracting pilots are being forced to use are certainly not advising their clients. They are collecting money for themselves and for BRK.

Up until recently commercial pilots were charged extra for life insurance and critical illness cover. However some of the main insurance providers have now taken the view that commercial pilots are a much lower risk than single seat and hobby pilots. Because there are two people in the cockpit then the chances of an accident are reduced.

If you took out your life policy, even the one on your mortgage more than three years ago then it is probably worth your while revisiting the issue.

The same principles apply to income protection. The costs for pilots have come down. You will not be covered for the first 9 to 12 weeks but the premiums are fully tax deductible.

Any contracting pilot should be thinking about using the new Irish tax law where a company does not need to pay tax on its profits for the first 3 years to build up a rainy day fund to cover them for 12 weeks. So instead of paying £10k or £20k to Gordon Brown leave it in an Irish company and if you need it you can draw it out as a salary.

I agree though that most financial advisers haven't got a clue when it comes to us. In addition if you are buying new life insurance or income protection ask your broker for half his commission back. In the case of a life policy a broker will receive 100% of your first years premium and in the case of income protections it is 120%.

Untrue. Brookfield pilots are required to pay tax like everybody else.

That's correct, but everyone who works as a Brookfield pilot does so knowing full-well that they have no guaranteed hours. Ryanair have set up this system for their benefit, but many pilots are prepared to work in this way.

This post is a statement of the obvious. Sadly the Poster did not do his research properly before signing up to Brookfield.

Hidden catch? Not from anyone who has any clue about what it means to be self-employed or run a business.

Well if you seem to know everything about being "self-employed", maybe you'll want to see the IR's view on your employment status.

https://esi2calculator.hmrc.gov.uk/esi/app/index.html

Try that and see what they say :=

I tried it out, answered the questions truthfully as if I were on a Brookfield contract (no, I'm not I work as employed for someone else) and this was the result:

Employment Status Indicator Result
Based on the information you have provided, the worker is self-employed.

The result is based on the following grounds:

Version: 1.3.0.1
The worker is self-employed. [Why ?]
There is a low indication of substitution. [Why ?]
There is a medium indication of control over the worker. [Why ?]
There is a high indication of financial risk. [Why ?]
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In the couple of EU countries I've worked on contract, we were paid by an off-shore non-EU holding company. The flying was temporary and intercontinental. In the EU, claiming 'self-employed' status, I have had to declare I have more than 1 customer, even more than 2. My company is registered, accounts filed and taxes paid. Is this not the case in UK? Can you be self-employed working only for 1 agency with only 1 source of income? Do you really have freedom over your working schedule and time off periods? If not how can you be truely self-employed?

If you have 1000 hours experience on the 737, does that pretty much rule you out of Ryanair (1300TT) or will CAE or whoever else does recruitment consider you?

Mikehammer,

I just did it and:

As did I..

It's the interpretation of the questions which causes the differential.

Under the terms of their contract, if the worker is unable or unwilling to carry out the work personally are they obliged to send someone else to do it? No, you can't just send someone else to do the work

If the worker is unwilling to carry out the work personally, do they have any right to send someone else to do it? Nope


Could the worker bring in someone to help with the work the worker is engaged to do if necessary and pay them out of their own money? Nope

Can the worker be moved by the engager from one task to another as the engager's priorities change? Yes, for example base change

Can the worker decide how the work is done? No, the roster is published and you have no say on if you work tht roster or not

Does the worker have to provide not only minor items of equipment or those tools of the trade that workers customarily provide but also the major items of equipment needed to do the work? Not unless you have a spare 737 parked up.

Does the worker have to pay the cost of all the materials or supplies needed to do the work without being reimbursed? Nope

Is the worker paid an all-inclusive rate of remuneration that includes the costs of the worker's provision of substantial materials or supplies needed for the work? Nope, just paid for time spent on SBH

Is the worker required to provide a motor vehicle for use at work, the main purpose of which is to transport people, equipment, materials or goods, or in order to do the work, and is not just for travel to and from work or between sites? Nope

Which of the following best describes how the worker's main income is made up? Regular payment based on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rate


What is the statement that best describes where the worker does the work? Told where and when to go to work

How many other engagers has the worker done similar work for during the last 12 months? None, because you are contracted to fly for one company only.

Under the terms of their contract, if the worker is unable or unwilling to carry out the work personally are they obliged to send someone else to do it? No, you can't just send someone else to do the work

If the worker is unwilling to carry out the work personally, do they have any right to send someone else to do it? Nope

It is possible to swap your slot on the roster with someone else if for some reason you are unable to carry out the work.

Could the worker bring in someone to help with the work the worker is engaged to do if necessary and pay them out of their own money? Nope



Can the worker be moved by the engager from one task to another as the engager's priorities change? Yes, for example base change

Can the worker decide how the work is done? No, the roster is published and you have no say on if you work tht roster or not

Does the worker have to provide not only minor items of equipment or those tools of the trade that workers customarily provide but also the major items of equipment needed to do the work? Not unless you have a spare 737 parked up.

If the 737 is the place of work then if you are providing cans for your ears and a uniform then you are supplying the major items of equipment.


Does the worker have to pay the cost of all the materials or supplies needed to do the work without being reimbursed? Nope

If the 737 can be proven to be the place of work and not a piece of equipment then you do provide the materials needed.

The pilot also pays for type rating, line training, medical examinations etc. without them being reimbursed.


Is the worker paid an all-inclusive rate of remuneration that includes the costs of the worker's provision of substantial materials or supplies needed for the work? Nope, just paid for time spent on SBH



Is the worker required to provide a motor vehicle for use at work, the main purpose of which is to transport people, equipment, materials or goods, or in order to do the work, and is not just for travel to and from work or between sites? Nope

Which of the following best describes how the worker's main income is made up? Regular payment based on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly rate


What is the statement that best describes where the worker does the work? Told where and when to go to work

How many other engagers has the worker done similar work for during the last 12 months? None, because you are contracted to fly for one company only.



I am being a little pedantic here but what I am trying to show is that even with limited knowledge can make an argument in favour of the self employed case then I expect a good barrister could tie the thing up in court for a few years.

If Ryanair could prove the the cockpit including the route and roster are the pilots place of business then the plane ceases to be a tool or piece of equipment and the uniform and headset are the equipment which could be provided by the pilot.

The safety guidelines and plane operations methods are not set down by Ryanair but by the regulator and Boeing.

This is the reason why the irish tax authorities have decided not to go after Ryanair. Its hard to justify the expense of going to court with Ryanair when the tax take is so low.

From a PR point of view it would be a tough time for the Inland Revenue to be wasting millions of pounds trying to prove that the pilots are employees and not self employed and all for the benefit of the Irish Government who will be the ultimate beneficiary given that as an employee of Ryanair you would be working for an Irish company and paying tax in Ireland. BRK would be ignored in the process.