I've really had enough of it. The claims element is now working OK on the surface of it, but I agree with STH that the raft of small-minded penny-pinching measures brought in with JPA beggar belief. I was away for a 5-day det to the US; the subesquent claim which took nearly two hours to submit even after 'er indoors had sorted through all my receipts and made sense of the whole thing (she's an accounts clerk, bless her). What no one is counting is the cost in man-hours lost to the service, plus the loss of goodwill due to the fact that our lords and masters believe this system is better (read: cheaper) than just issuing a daily rate and letting us get on with it.
I have now been embarrassed on several occasions when dining with US and civilian colleagues of equal or greater rank due to the need to try to stay within budget.
It's taken three months to get a pay packet that makes any sense (I was posted in March) and have been forced to write to OC Admin (sorry, BSW) regarding the lack of response to my queries to JPAC and the 'back office'.
The whole thing should be rolled up and thrown in the skip, with the perpetrators publicily vilified throughout the kingdom....
Sorry. Rant got way from a me a bit......
SBG