RANT ON
I have had many run-ins over the years with HR/Employee Services/Payroll (That's right we have all three in our American owned large Aerospace company). Admittedly when I was still in there weren't the draconian budget restraints that are now in place, but I always found that the personal P&A clerk and command chain up to Chf Clk was a system that worked quite well and if you lucked out with a good clerk they were worth their weight in gold and would make sure that you claimed for all allowances that you were entitled to, which could be very hidden that you would never normally know about. It was as if the clerks were actually there to help you against the system. With the advent of JPA, no-one knew what could be claimed for and therefore money was saved through entitled allowances either not being claimed or the rules and constraints made so difficult that the majority just gave up and didn't claim their full entitlements. Jump across the fence to civvy street and it is my experience that HR et al is a job creation scheme for the unwashed and uneducated who are purely there to be face of the company to the workforce and to actively screw said employees in favour of the company. When challenged with logic and their own rules, they cave. What I have never seen is any accountability for their multiple srcews ups and failures.
RANT OFF