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Living in ‘Harmony’
Royal Marines Harmony and Separated Service by Major Simon Chapman Royal Marines
T
he latest tri-Service initiative to improve
work/life balance for Service families
and personnel was introduced in April
2004. From this date, all Royal Marines
personnel will have the amount of time that
they spend on duty in barracks, or away
from barracks on exercise and operations,
recorded and managed formally, with a
view to guaranteeing prescribed levels of
‘harmony’ time.
In short, harmony time is the amount of time
an individual can spend on leave or
participating in leisure activities outside of the
working day at his normal place of duty,
typically his barracks. It is measured over a
rolling three-year period and every Royal
Marine is entitled to 435 harmony days,
which is deemed by the Navy Board to be an
acceptable work/life balance. Harmony time is monitored by measuring an duty for 24 hours or more. Security or other
individual’s separated service, which is barrack duties, which require a man to be
absence from his normal place of duty or away from his normal living accommodation
lack of freedom to enjoy leisure at his place at his place of duty overnight, also count as
of duty/residence at place of duty. Note that separated service. The threshold for
separated service is absence from place of separated service is 660 days over a rolling
duty only, not from the family home. Absence three-year period.
covers all exercises, deployments, operational
tours and most other extraneous The recording of separated service will make
commitments away from the normal place of Commanders much more aware of the
commitments levied against their personnel,
People Matters
both at home and abroad. They will have to
manage their personnel more efficiently and
P
eople Matters flexibly to ensure separated service
Race for Life
comes out twice a
thresholds are not breached and harmony
year and is full of
entitlements are maintained. Where
information of
commitments are likely to impinge on either
interest both to
O
ver 70 women from HMS RALEIGH
serving personnel
of the above then individual or group
took part in Cancer Research UK’s
and families.
commitments will have to be reviewed, in
Race for Life. Amongst the runners was Anita
The summer issue
conjunction with current tasking.
Murray from Flagship Training. Anita has
came out in July
taken part in the Race for Life event before and may still be Harmony and separated service are fairly new
but was inspired this time by the challenge
available in ships
concepts which will take time for Service
of getting as many women as possible to
and establishment.
families and personnel, including
Otherwise, you can
take part.
download a copy from the RN and RM
Commanders, to come to terms with. Both
website (www.rnreference.mod.uk).
are measured over a rolling three-year
Anita’s mother died of lung cancer more than
Some of the topics covered this time are:
period, which may mean that separated
four years ago, so the cause is close to her
Living and Working in Naples.
service is higher in one year than the next,
heart. Anita says, “To be part of a team effort but harmony time over a rolling three-year
New Fleet HQ at Whale Island.
to raise over £2,500 for the charity gave me period is guaranteed. Royal Marines can
New tri-Service pay and allowances being
great personal satisfaction. It’s too late for my
introduced, with a breakdown of all the
obtain further information regarding harmony
mum, but if our efforts help just one other
different rates/allowances.
and separated service from unit Adjutants and
person it must be worth it!”
Leaving the Service: should I go or should
Company Sergeant Majors.
I stay?
To find out more about the work of Cancer
Divisional Review Project: changing the
Harmony time also applies to Royal Naval
Research UK, or to make a donation, visit
divisional system from form filling to
personnel. More information can be obtained
www.cancerresearch.uk.org G leadership and knowing your people. G from the Unit Personnel Office (UPO). G
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