Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Aircrew Forums > Military Aviation
Reload this Page >

VeRR- have you experience of it?

Wikiposts
Search
Military Aviation A forum for the professionals who fly military hardware. Also for the backroom boys and girls who support the flying and maintain the equipment, and without whom nothing would ever leave the ground. All armies, navies and air forces of the world equally welcome here.

VeRR- have you experience of it?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 2nd Mar 2019, 20:59
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
VeRR- have you experience of it?

Hello all,

I am looking at a possible SO2 engagement under VeRR having been approached on LinkedIn and would value your experience if you have been or currently are working in a role under these reserve terms.

I had not been interested in reserve work in the past due to the ‘all or nothing’ options and a few days a week under these terms might fit. Trying to find the specifics of the TCoS online has proved rather fruitless and I am awaiting response from Cranwell to my enquiries.
One of my queries is about pay as it appears that the pro-rata rate may be based on a (reserve) SO2 salary /365- making the daily rate approx £150. If so, this would be highly unattactive and way below what you would expect to attract for the cognitive capacity and skills demanded by the role. It would be very challenging to attract people into a part time role at this rate.

Any insights appreciated.
Thereismore is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 07:15
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Somewhere flat
Age: 68
Posts: 5,555
Likes: 0
Received 42 Likes on 29 Posts
..although it is around the main salary of a step I-step 2 full time squadron leader I believe. http://www.armedforces.co.uk/rafpays...p#.XHuLA_Z2uUk Welcome to military pay scales!
Wensleydale is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 07:20
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: The Frozen North
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am on VeRR as part of the BSG project run at some of our largest bases, having just left regular Service at 55.

For me the salary isn’t the attraction, more keeping in touch with what I had been doing for some 30 years along with most of my mates as well as keeping the old grey cells ticking over.

Whilst I can always say ‘no’ to any task given under VeRR, the Service will expect you to provide value in your input and I find it a happy balance, although with the current gapping I could easily find work to fill 5 days a week !!!

But it looks like your offer is a more ‘fixed’ working arrangement, so my experience may not strictly read across....good luck !!

PostMeHappy is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 11:53
  #4 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Just looked at the current VeRR vacancies page https://www.raf.mod.uk/ftrs-ptvr-adc-verr/

Then spotted the final line "VeRR posts are usually created for a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 90 days per year".

Love the idea of either of those two particular SO2 posts currently listed as being capable of being undertaken effectively if only filled for those periods. They look pretty full-on to me, or are these VeRR posts "job share" with others over a full year?
Chris Kebab is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 14:44
  #5 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Thank you for your views.

i was glad to see that there is at least an attempt at a flexible approach in engaging reserve experience and the proposal is very much along the lines ‘whatever / however we can make it work’ .

By the aounds of it, the salary equation appears about right at /365 for a daily rate which reduces a nominally acceptable salary rate to ....well... not so.

A change to making the pro-rata daily rate reflective of a 5 day working week ( which is how most of these roles are) would at least make these roles worth looking at if you are someone who is balancing a portfolio of income streams. There are plenty of us who left at sub 40 who can provide energy and value to staff roles and have flexibility to arrange our working regimes, however the rate would need to get somewhere close to opportunity cost, time and cognitive switch put into the role.

I’ll await formal responses though for now it appears that (sadly) this is not something that can attract someone like me who left at 38, has time flexibility and but has to ensure that it the income fairly compensated the energy.
Thereismore is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 15:09
  #6 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 1,371
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Neither of the SO2 posts on that page are under VeRR terms - click on them and you will see they are FTRS (HC) [so full time]..

With the VeRR Scheme, as I understand it, once approved you sit on a 'waiting list' and if a job becomes available (perhaps back filling an OOA, filling a gapped post temporarily or filling a 'project' job) then it gets circulated to all those eligible. Maximum of 90 days per year (the year starts Apr 1) of which 9 days are paid leave. Not all the 'benefits' of the service are available to VeRR. It seems to me you are more a 'consultant' than a reservist!
Wrathmonk is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 15:31
  #7 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
...fair cop; looked at the post titles, went wibble wibble, had flashbacks to a particularly grim ground tour in MB and didn't click any further!
Chris Kebab is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 15:50
  #8 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Originally Posted by Wrathmonk
Neither of the SO2 posts on that page are under VeRR terms - click on them and you will see they are FTRS (HC) [so full time]..

With the VeRR Scheme, as I understand it, once approved you sit on a 'waiting list' and if a job becomes available (perhaps back filling an OOA, filling a gapped post temporarily or filling a 'project' job) then it gets circulated to all those eligible. Maximum of 90 days per year (the year starts Apr 1) of which 9 days are paid leave. Not all the 'benefits' of the service are available to VeRR. It seems to me you are more a 'consultant' than a reservist!
Yes, that is the 'deal' and I think it is a great step towards a more flexible approach at bringing in experienced people and extra capacity. The option for a short-'ish' or medium-term engagement is very much in line with how many of us work outside of the military and importantly it allows us to make this fit around our other commitments. The role I am in discussions about is SO2 and the preference is FTRS however it has been unfilled for 18 months and the augmentation of VeRR would not preclude the post being subsequently filled FT and retain the VeRR additional capacity.

Just the one snag... it isn't financially attractive enough.
Thereismore is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 15:57
  #9 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 1,371
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
particularly grim ground tour in MB
That doesn't narrow it down very much!
Wrathmonk is offline  
Old 3rd Mar 2019, 20:42
  #10 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 343
Received 9 Likes on 6 Posts
Originally Posted by Wrathmonk
Neither of the SO2 posts on that page are under VeRR terms - click on them and you will see they are FTRS (HC) [so full time]..
Actually FTRS(FC) so you get pretty much all the benefits* etc. and full X-factor, so like being a regular but you can't get drafted somewhere else at short notice.

*I think there's something obscure you don't get with FC in certain circumstances.
Bing is offline  
Old 8th Mar 2019, 19:42
  #11 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Feedback

I have the results of my research into the TCoS that are applied to VeRR engagements and wanted to share here so that others who are looking at this can take a view.

The SO2 staff post that was ‘in need’ has been gapped for 15 months and ‘all options’ were being investigated by the desk and the Dept head with the gap. In absence of a regular the preference was for FTRS however there was a genuine appetite to try and find solutions that would fit an individual’s commitment appetite; this is what attracted me.

Unfortunately it transpired that only a FTRS commitment would not jeopardise the post in the long run so a augmentation through VeRR was proposed.

Whilst a 2 day a week commitment for a number of weeks a year (30-45) would have worked the remuneration does not. At reserve (LC) payscales and abatement for number of years since leaving I would have been starting at OF3 starting annual salary equivalent of £47k.... BUT the pay is pro rata based on 365 working days a year equating to £130 a day, or £16 an hour.


For comparison - these rates are would be expected for entry level book keeping. A part time engagement for someone with the skills required of a key staff role would attract in the region of £50-80 equivalent hourly rate.


These terms will struggle to attract a mid- career individual with the skills and cognitive abilities required for such a role. At best you will get a full pension retiree who wants the socialisation and has the time. This is a shame because the service denies itself a pool of dynamic talent and there are many of us around who are part of the newer ways of working with multiple income streams and commitments.

Unfortunately I have retrenched back into my previous position; there is little that could attract me back into a service commitment because the structure has not evolved sufficiently from ‘weekend reserves’ or FTRS.
Thereismore is offline  
Old 9th Mar 2019, 15:49
  #12 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Quite near 'An aerodrome somewhere in England'
Posts: 26,795
Received 270 Likes on 109 Posts
Never has the expression "No bucks - no Buck Rogers" been more apposite!
BEagle is offline  
Old 19th Oct 2019, 21:50
  #13 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
For comparison

Some further feedback (For anyone that cares!) During my conversations with the ‘desk’ that was looking to fill this vacancy (remember this was a short term fix contract for approx 12-18 months) I provided real world comparative examples of what such a job should be paying (they weren’t taken seriously, or rather no one could see how to change the system to fit reality). £500/ day is the current rate that such a post has to compete against - and unless they can raise it from the £150 offered it will forever fail to attract anyone except retirees. Flexible employment models are still a long way off in the MOD.
Thereismore is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 08:22
  #14 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 4,334
Received 80 Likes on 32 Posts
Mate, are you smoking the whackky baccy? How you could you pay an SO2 Reservist £500/day and then let them work 8 days a month and take home the same as a Regular does for working 22 days a month? There would be a riot!

I think you are trying to compare VERR and ADC to contract consultancy in the commercial sector - it isn’t the same. The whole idea is to offer roles/posts out to those that still want to serve, with a much reduced commitment, for a symbiotic relationship between the Service and the part-time retired workforce. If you want £500/day or much more then come knocking via the various outsourced contracts in MOD working for the likes of PWC, EY, KPMG, et al. They get paid those sorts of consultancy fees for fixed term projects/programmes.

Finally, as in commercial land, if you don’t like the rate that VERR/ADC pays then don’t do it...
Lima Juliet is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 11:37
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Germany
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Lima Juliet
Mate, are you smoking the whackky baccy? How you could you pay an SO2 Reservist £500/day and then let them work 8 days a month and take home the same as a Regular does for working 22 days a month? There would be a riot!

I think you are trying to compare VERR and ADC to contract consultancy in the commercial sector - it isn’t the same. The whole idea is to offer roles/posts out to those that still want to serve, with a much reduced commitment, for a symbiotic relationship between the Service and the part-time retired workforce. If you want £500/day or much more then come knocking via the various outsourced contracts in MOD working for the likes of PWC, EY, KPMG, et al. They get paid those sorts of consultancy fees for fixed term projects/programmes.

Finally, as in commercial land, if you don’t like the rate that VERR/ADC pays then don’t do it...
wouldn’t be a problem if service pay for regulars wasn’t so sh*te!
VinRouge is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 14:16
  #16 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: The Jungle
Posts: 364
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Lima Juliet
Mate, are you smoking the whackky baccy? How you could you pay an SO2 Reservist £500/day and then let them work 8 days a month and take home the same as a Regular does for working 22 days a month? There would be a riot!

I think you are trying to compare VERR and ADC to contract consultancy in the commercial sector - it isn’t the same. The whole idea is to offer roles/posts out to those that still want to serve, with a much reduced commitment, for a symbiotic relationship between the Service and the part-time retired workforce. If you want £500/day or much more then come knocking via the various outsourced contracts in MOD working for the likes of PWC, EY, KPMG, et al. They get paid those sorts of consultancy fees for fixed term projects/programmes.

Finally, as in commercial land, if you don’t like the rate that VERR/ADC pays then don’t do it...

LJ, with respect, the pay is particularly poor if you want high quality individuals with experience to come back in to the Service under a reservist scheme. Whilst I agree, circa £500 per day is not feasible, the pay per day for reservists (dependant upon which reservist scheme you come back in on) when compared to similar jobs in the civilian profession, such as a pilot, is poor.
Foghorn Leghorn is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 14:52
  #17 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 4,334
Received 80 Likes on 32 Posts
Originally Posted by VinRouge

wouldn’t be a problem if service pay for regulars wasn’t so sh*te!
It’s not “sh*te” but then again you don’t value the pension and think that’s all a fiddle!!!
Lima Juliet is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 15:02
  #18 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 4,334
Received 80 Likes on 32 Posts
Originally Posted by Foghorn Leghorn
LJ, with respect, the pay is particularly poor if you want high quality individuals with experience to come back in to the Service under a reservist scheme. Whilst I agree, circa £500 per day is not feasible, the pay per day for reservists (dependant upon which reservist scheme you come back in on) when compared to similar jobs in the civilian profession, such as a pilot, is poor.
We haven’t got enough flying to go around for the Regulars as it is, so why would you want heaps of Reservists coming back to earn 3-4 times as much per day and take the flying? Especially, for the more complex aircraft that require you to remain competent as well as current. The flying is one of the main reasons join up and hang around - when you start to get less than 200-250/year then the idea of Reservist Aircrew (even if paid the same) just wouldn’t make sense. So to pay them more than their Regular counterparts for that pleasure would make even less sense.
Lima Juliet is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 17:52
  #19 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Wherever it is this month
Posts: 1,784
Received 75 Likes on 34 Posts
Originally Posted by Lima Juliet
We haven’t got enough flying to go around for the Regulars as it is. [...] The flying is one of the main reasons join up and hang around - when you start to get less than 200-250/year then the idea of Reservist Aircrew (even if paid the same) just wouldn’t make sense
That doesn’t really fit with the notion of a ‘next generation Air Force’ IMHO. 20-25hrs per month was the benchmark twenty years or so ago, when a sim was something you did to practice instrument flying or emergencies and not much else. The economics of the UK’s F35 commitment were predicated on more or less a 50:50 blend of live and synthetic training (it may even have favoured synthetic but I can’t be sure of the number). And OPSEC more or less mandates a lot of tactical training to be done in the sim. If any of their airships are considering the low flying rate to be a retention issue then I’d suggest that instead of flying 100-125 hours per year more than needed, they add the cost of 1 flying hour to regular pilot salaries and use the engineering capacity to grow the number (regular or reserve) of pilots to help make the exercise and deployment plot more sustainable at the individual level.
Easy Street is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2019, 18:04
  #20 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 4,334
Received 80 Likes on 32 Posts
Easy Street

Hmmm, if you truly believe that then I suspect that we are doomed. People don’t join up to fly sims and it won’t matter what you pay - they will join up, fly a couple of tours and leave. We have a hard enough job dragging people to staff for 2-3 years, but if they hardly ever fly (apart from sims) then the excitement factor will quickly go.
Lima Juliet is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.