Tempo
For many RAF personnel the realities of our Whole Force and the change from ‘Large Scale’ operations to a more frequent, fast paced and potentially ‘bare base’ Operational Contingent requirement has meant, for some personnel, unprecedented DWR turnarounds, the requirement for an increase of PDT (and subsequent nights out of bed) and more time away from families. This high end tempo of deployment and training for some squadron personnel and force elements is unrelenting, impacting both on those that remain fully deployable and those having to fill the gaps created at the home base. The vast majority of families understand that this “goes with the job” and they continue to display great resilience in “just getting on with it”. But a common complaint from families is the short notice sometimes being given of a deployment and the concomitant impact on spouse employment, childcare and family life in general. This, together with the unrelenting tempo and, coupled with the disillusionment described above with elements of the overall offer, may create real issues in the future for retention and resilience, if not addressed.
Childcare
The need, cost and availability of childcare is becoming a real burden on the diverse range of RAF families who need to access it – or indeed who cannot afford to access it. Whilst acknowledging that this is an issue that affects many civilian families as well, we are nevertheless concerned about the wildly varying costs around the country and the growing strain it is placing on those that need childcare in order to meet their operational Service commitments. The RAF and MoD should not underestimate the impact this complicated and emotive issue is having and we welcome the work being done at HQ Air Community Support, the inclusion of childcare as an issue to be addressed as part of the MoD Family Strategy and the intent to (at long last) produce a MoD childcare policy. We believe firmly that there exists a direct link between affordable childcare and current retention, career management, future engagement strategies and spousal employment concerns.
Pay
Public Sector pay restraint continues to cause resigned resentment, and seems to many of our personnel to be ‘out of sync’ with perceived improvements in private sector pay and opportunities. Whilst acknowledging that there a significant difference between saying you are going to leave the Service and actually leaving, we have nevertheless been struck by the numbers telling us they are thinking about it, especially amongst some engineering trades. Personnel are very quick to compare themselves with their civilian counterparts - often quoting the benefits on some stations of quite literally crossing the hangar floor to the civilian maintenance company. Finally, the new pension may be the best in the public sector but it is still a major factor in many people’s decision-making about their longer term future in the Service.
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www.raf-ff.org.uk
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