Ryanair is being sued by hundreds of pilots who claim they are owed holiday pay. The case revolves around Ryanair's historic heavy reliance on contractor pilots hired through agencies to supplement its full-time workforce. Under this system, Ryanair argued it was not obliged to pay these workers sick pay or holiday pay because they were not its employees. The firm argues that airline pilots that have been engaged through agencies are entitled to back-dated holiday pay and pension contributions, as well as other statutory protections. The Berlin-Brandenburg State Social Court ruled in January that Ryanair pilots at German bases were employees subject to social security contributions and described Ryanair's company structure as a "legal fiction" designed to obscure the employment relationship.