This is a great deal for management. The carrot is that if you keep doing the job in "acting" or unofficial capacity long enough, including the nights and weekends, you'll get the title and salary "someday."
Yep, and this is why one of the great lessons of this generation (ish) has been to change jobs if you want a raise. That's another thing that the higher-ups in companies will have to get smarter about, if they want to keep talent!