you do - but that is done at the “interview” stage.
once interest is shown, the correct people pick it up and process it - they’ll meet with the candidate which can be at the pub over a pint to discuss the application, confirming the person is joining for sound reasons, is the kind of person that would fit into the Lodge, and get to know the candidate etc in that casual setting a friendship can be made and as a result those Lodge members are in a position to propose the candidate.
The suggestion “you need to know one to become one” is true, but not so rigid nowadays - as you can apply online, they get to know you and thus can propose you to the lodge. it is bringing people off the street in that would otherwise never join and thus opening up the recruitment pool
nail and head - it is a reducing population as the format is stuck in old way which is not what today’s potentially next generation want to do (it is far from instagramable - at least the bits behind closed doors are)
[now shall we get back on topic and continue this via PM if required?]
The majority of CS roles in the RAFAC are on less than £56k. MoD CS salaries are a matter of public record (those are for Air Command, but RAFAC will be the same/similar). I can’t remember what grade WExOs are, but assuming it’s C2 they’re probably on ~£33,000.
I used to work as a contractor in a couple of different government departments. Whenever they needed to assign us an equivalent grade they always used our salaries as the guide. On that basis, C2 / HEO is equivalent to cpl.
Yep. Civil servants are grossly underpaid for the responsibility that carry. We can’t fix that, but we can try to remember it when dealing with RAFAC CS folk.
Yeah. When I was in the CS I was Group Captain equivalent apparently, but paid nowhere near their salary. Didn’t mind, but the equivalency thing was silly. Useful when dealing with MOD and the ALS lawyers to show what level I was at, but otherwise rather meaningless.
I’ve found the biggest issue with dealing with CS is the whole rank/authority issue.
It was CS who dealt with demands of first aid kits etc. As my section HS rep I had to attend the meetings etc and had the authority to demand the items. But the CS was a D grade at the time, wouldn’t let me email them as I was only an SAC at the time. Had to get my Sgt to email them my demands. I did enjoy that I was on more than them though, so they could keep their “rank”.
If RAFAC has to deal with this sort of thing as well, not good.
I only “pulled rank” once. That was with an ALS Major who disagreed with me on the interpretation of a piece of legislation. One that I drafted.
Otherwise I think it’s a bit silly
WEXOs are graded as HEO and as of the last publicly available pay are on £33,830. But that is from august last year so their is probably a small pay rise in that coming soon if not already.
That amount is just above the highest of AS1 but below that of the lowest band for Cpl and it’s slight higher than the lowest pay band of a Fg Off. The E1 & E2s are on something like 22,000 which is only higher than a recruit in basic phase 1 training but lower than a phase 2 trainee
Debatable. I used to consider joining the ALS reserve. Then I worked with some regulars and realised my professional credibility would be shot if I joined up (and it was already bad enough as I was working for the Government)
Perhaps that explains why one of the senior counsels at my company chooses the ranks of the Parachute Regt rather than a commission in the ALS. I did always wonder …
The rule of thumb I’ve used for civil service equivalent (& police staff for that matter) is double their pay & that’s roughly equivalent to the uniformed rank.
Perhaps goes some way to explain why some WExOs seem to be permanently on a tea break.
I’m in a fairly junior position within my profession, working for a third sector organisation rather than the private sector, and I still make a fair amount more than that.
This is bizarrely common in volunteer management world. If you look at the market rate of what a volunteer manager like a WEXO or what a coordinator is paid it is massively less for what the responsibilities are.
Would a name change help?
WEXO = Wg Volunteer Support Manager
Wg Admin Assistant = Wg Volunteer Coordinator.
It makes it more indicative of their name, closer to what they need to do & hopefully tap into the higher grades.
