Staff must split wages? That's a mockery (6)
I believe the answer is:
parody
'that's a mockery' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'staff must split wages?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'staff' could be 'rod' (both can mean a stick or cane) and 'rod' is located in the answer.
'wages?' could be 'pay' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'pay' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for parody that I've seen before include "Spoof, lampoon" , "Takeoff" , "Comic imitation of, say, well-known literary style" , "Make a mockery" , "Skit" .)