That cant be standard.
You must have rolled some over. Or bought extra leave
Sorry. I just dont believe that your contract gives you almost 11 weeks leave.
What do you do? That’s not bad at all for the basic annual package.
I get 30 days leave now I’ve reached the 5 year mark, plus 8 days public holidays, 1 for QEII birthday, 6 for CPD, 6 for volunteering, 5 for a cadet camp, 30 for judicial sitting and 5 for judicial training. I’m barely in over December and January
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Not really leave, that, is it…
Depends on what you do. Lots of things fall into that category. And normally over in a couple of hours then the rest of the day is yours. All about being smart with your bookings.
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tbf, it does includes Bank Holidays, because the organisation I work for is open on Bank Holidays so we just get the days added on in lieu. Given I don’t have children, I do like choosing when I take those days though 
some of my colleagues did actually finish for this year in November
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The way it should be
One assumes he’s a teacher. I’m rolling on 18 weeks here suckers!
seconded…I know D1 drivers who went through Leconfield who used F1771 to claim back medical and theory test expenses
My money would be on the railway. London Underground get 10 weeks as standard.
Having spoken to WExOs and HQAC about this, in theory if you do a residential course with an external provider for a qualification that you can also do through HQAC, you can claim the residential component of the course back on a F1771, but:
- it requires your WExO to know this is possible
- it requires your WExO to sign off the budget to do this
- it requires the course provider to be able to split up the residential cost from the instructional element
whether anyone has ever successfully claimed this is probably doubtful!
The closest I’ve heard is people going to Leconfield being put up in a B&B for the duration of the D1 course
These days claiming costs for hotels and the like has gone the same way as trains… One has to first apply to have it provided through the MOD contracts. Only if that isn’t possible can it a claim for expenses be authorised.
Somewhere I’m sure to still have some old details of all the things one used to be able to claim for as part of subsistence… It wasn’t solely limited to food and accommodation as ne might expect now. One could claim for the cost of a newspaper for example… All the important ‘Officery’ things and that…
It was hard enough getting pay claim signed off for one of my Staff who went and did a course with the ACF.
why stay in a B&B and claim for the accommodation when the mess is free (well it is pocket money a day).
the D1 course and the admin prior (medical and theory) is approved for claiming, yes it does need WExO approval in advance but that is a simple email to indicate it will be claimed for.
In the cases I’ve heard the mess was full or being refurbished. I should clarify that in these instances they were as @wdimagineer2b stated and the B&B was booked in advance by their WHQ using the MOD travel booking portal
I did a course at Leconfield earlier this year and as they had no accommodation available I stayed in a local(ish) hotel that was booked by WHQ. I could also claim for dinner up to a certain value, but not lunch.
I had to pay for it upfront and then claimed the costs back through a 1771. So it’s certainly possible, but I think the circumstances are limited. I was very grateful for the hotel stay, rather than having to stay at Leconfield, which I’ve heard isn’t great.
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But what about those members of uniformed staff who don’t/can’t/won’t attend events where they can claim VA.
On normal parade nights, VA isn’t claimable so if they wanted to buy such items they would be out of pocket. They might have less need for some of the equipment but still a need.
Within university based Cadets, we got paid a 1/4 day rate for a parade night. Admittedly that plus extra all got spent in the mess or a club after but it still helped. I guess that could be classed as us being trained though so perhaps slightly different. It would also add ££££££ to the payroll or whatever the correct terminology is for it so I’m not suggesting we do.
Also, I’ve never claimed for it, as I don’t agree with claiming for it but I heard we can’t (or it isn’t the done thing) to claim for Remembrance parades, is that correct?
Also on the topic of claiming back tax, mileage is less than HMRC’s guidance so you can claim back the difference as tax relief. Think the difference is about 20p per mile so will add up.
Specifically banned in ACP300.
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I was at Leconfield last month for my D1. Stayed in the Officers Mess and have put in authorised claims for theory tests and travel on a F1771. Medical had to be on a different form (MOD Form 891). Still waiting on it to appear in my bank account though.
in addition to what paracetamol has indicated about it not being viable for VA, how on earth does anyone make a Remembrance Parade last the required minimum 8 hours to qualify?
Ok I accept that the day is 8 hours long so travel can be included in that, but who is travelling significant distances to attend a 1hr30 - 2 hour event and back again and clocking up 8 hours?
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you only get relief at your tax rate so with 20p difference it would be 4p per mile for basic rate and 8p per mile for higher rate so may not add up to an awful lot but something is better than nothing and if you do a lot of mileage for cadets then it could help offset some of the tax paid on VA.
Having had a couple of days VA now for SSIC I notice that RAFAC don’t deduct NI, does anyone know if this is because it’s not payable on VA or can I expect the friendly tax man to hit me with a demand at the end of the financial year 