While we await the Chancellor's statement today (29 Jul 24) on the public finances - including public sector pay - it may be worth revisiting Commodore (retd) Steve Prest's articles on improving the offer for service personnel. He said

This is not all about money (although money is important) but rather the totality of the offer – in the jargon, the 'total reward framework'.

Prest quoted from last year's AFPRB report:

Armed Forces' pay has fallen in real terms over the last decade and the pay comparison analysis shows that pay for our remit group has mostly fallen relative to others in the wider economy.

"The lowest paid personnel experienced the highest deterioration in their position in the distribution of whole economy earnings.

.. which, as Prest said, needs to be addressed "sharpish".

He went on to give an interesting classification of the elements that make up a service person's quality of life.

Using a naval analogy, he argued that those elements could usefully be split into two categories: what your life is like onboard/at work and what the package enables you to do when you are not onboard/at work:

Onboard (most of the unique factors about service life):

• Routines
• Accommodation/living conditions
• Food
• Professional satisfaction
• Equipment and training
• Opportunities for travel runs ashore (Join the Navy, see the world!)
• Sport/AT
• Camaraderie

Offboard (directly comparable to alternative employers):

• Pay and allowances
• Pension
• Leave (how much time do you spend at home and, very importantly, how predictable is it?)
• Housing
• Schooling
• Health care

This is - or should be - core business for BAFF, and we should be developing our own efforts and supporting others who are pushing in the same direction.