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Pay and Allowances 2011

2011 Pay Rates

The independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) recommendations on Armed Forces Pay and some allowances and charges have been accepted by the Government. They will be implemented in full from 1 Apr 11. 

This is the first year of the 2 year pay freeze

The key changes are as follows:

• For Serving personnel the 2 year pay freeze remain in place. There will be an increase of £250 in military salaries for those regular and full-time reserve personnel earning £21,000 or less.
•  For those on a six month deployment, the Operational Allowance has been doubled to £5,281.
• SFA charges will increase between 6p and 33p per day, which reflects a 1.4% increase for Grade 1 accommodation charges and changes in furniture hire.
• SLA charges will increase between 3p and 9p per day, which reflects a 1.4% increase for Grade 1 accommodation charges and changes in utilities costs and furniture hire.
•  Food charges to increase from £4.13 to £4.25, an increase of 2.9%.
•  Restructuring and uplift of Specialist Pay for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operators.
•  Increase to the rate of Northern Ireland Residents’ Supplement (NIRS) to £7.29 and its extension to cover Full Time Reserve Service and Northern Ireland based Reserve Forces personnel.
• No changes to the rates of Specialist Pay (SP) or Compensatory Allowances other than those for which separate recommendations have been made.

Liam Fox said:

    "Our Armed Forces make great sacrifices for this country and nobody deserves a pay award more. Despite inheriting a tough financial situation I am glad that we are still able to award this increase to the lowest-paid servicemen and women.

    "We're tackling a difficult economic situation, but we've managed to double the Operational Allowance and boost specialist pay for those such as EOD operators to recognise the unique work they do."

More detail

Pay and Charges  Although the 2-year pay freeze precluded a pay award for the majority of personnel, the AFPRB recommended a £250 increase in salary for our full-time regular and reserve personnel earning less than £21,000.

In considering the Government’s direction on the lowest earners, the AFPRB considered a range of issues including how to treat increments and the X-Factor.  It decided that all full-time personnel earning £21,000 or less should receive a fixed £250 increase in salary, regardless of X-Factor.  In addition, all eligible personnel who are below the top of their pay scale will continue to receive their annual increments. 

Accommodation The AFPRB has recommended small increases to most levels of accommodation charges.  Added to the rental charge are furniture hire increases and, for SLA, some increases in utility costs, which result in total accommodation charge increases ranging from 6p to 33p per day for SFA and from 3p to 9p per day for SLA.

The AFPRB’s long term approach to setting accommodation charges has been to achieve consistency with civilian comparators, tapered to reflect disparity in the quality of the accommodation, and with a discount that reflects the disadvantages of living in Service accommodation.

Food Charges  The AFPRB has recommended that daily food charges should be increased from £4.13 to £4.25.  This increase is in line with the average increase in the Food Supply Contract Prices and equates to a 2.9% rise.

Specialist Pay(EOD)  The levels of Specialist Pay have been restructured and uplifted by between 8% and 44%.  This recognises the high demand for EOD operators, the frequency of harmony breaches, the rigorous training, level of personal risk and limited military career opportunities within the specialisation. 

NIRS  There will be an uplift in NIRS to £7.29; an increase of 13.7%.  This recognises the threat level in Northern Ireland (NI) and the continuing adverse impact on Service personnel and their families compared to the rest of the UK.  In addition, eligibility to NIRS will be extended to locally recruited FTRS and NI based Reserve Forces.

Medical and Dental Officers  Owing to the pay freeze, the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration is not making any pay recommendations; thus the AFPRB will not be making its usual Service Medical and Dental Officers supplementary report.  Nevertheless, the AFPRB has continued to keep in touch with developments and issues and considered a number of information notes as part of this year’s evidence.  Medical and Dental Cadets that fall below the £21,000 threshold will receive the £250 salary increase. 

Armed Forces’ Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPRS 05) Validation  This year the AFPRB conducted a first validation of AFPS 05.  It determined that AFPS 05 compared favourably with other public and private sector schemes, that it is an important part of the current remuneration package and that it acts as a powerful retention tool.

 

The AFPRB

The AFPRB is an independent group comprising nine members and the chairman, Professor Alasdair Smith. It reports annually on levels of pay for the Armed Forces.

The AFPRB bases its recommendations on broad comparability with similarly weighted civilian jobs. The review body gathers evidence from a wide variety of sources and takes account of a number of factors including government evidence.

To view the 2011 report Click here

To view the 2010 report Click here

To view the 2009 report Click here

 

What is the Whole RAF Package Worth?

A useful link is the Armed Forces Benefits Calulator (ABC). Benefits can be described as all the investments an organisation makes in its workforce and everything that the employees value in working for the employer.

It can be an interesting exercise to calculate, using the site, just what your entire 'package' is worth.  We sometimes tend to look only at the pay we receive and possibly the pension. But what else does the RAF give that should be taken into consideration and makes up your total package?  Have a look before you compare your 'lot' with other jobs, perhaps in civvy street. The dentist and the gym can be expensive outside!

On the same site is the Pensions Calculator, which will show you what your pension entitlement is worth.

For the policy behind Pay and Allowances visit our 'Policy Section'

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