Possible Clues:

• Reward to keep staff seen as travesty
• Exaggerated imitation of a particular genre
• Take off gun when taking wages round
• Send up staff to divide wages
• Comic imitation of, say, well-known literary style
• To retain staff, earnings take off
• Satirical piece
• Mad magazine content
• Stick in money for imitation
• Remunerate retained staff? That's a travesty!