Operational Allowance

[The Loan Ranger]

Am I in the minority or has this happened to anyone else,

I returned from my DWR 28th September last year and had to cut short my POL as the only other person in my office was going away 11th October so to say the least I wasn't best pleased. I heard about the Operational Allowance and thought I would just wait a week or two as I was sure the Admin bods would be swamped with the Aircrew demanding their allowance, so I patiently waited until the first week in December when I went in to give my details to the ever so helpful people in PSF/HR/Man Servs or whoever it was that day.
I did manage some leave at Xmas so I guess I should be happy for that and on my return I enquired about when I was due any payment as JPA didn't show anything, my details had been lost, so I wrote them all down again and left not totally happy but understanding that accidents do happen and people do forget things.

Nothing arrives in Feb and JPA is so good I can't gain access I once again take an hour out of my life to pop down to PSF/HR/Man Servs again to see what's happening only to find out that my details have been lost again, now I'm a bit upset as this cash is destined for my forthcoming house purchase or should I say stamp duty and had it arrived when lots of other peoples arrived LAST YEAR!!! it was going into savings to make a bit of interest.

So now I e-mail the useless crowd who attend PSF/HR/Man Servs and ask the where is my allowance, once again giving my full details of DWR, dates etc: only this time copying said mail to Bosses on my side and theirs, I get an e-mail back saying I SHOULD receive payment at the end of April, now I'm sure we've all been messed around somewhere in the world by the Admin system but having to wait more than 6months for an Allowance surely beggars belief.

In this day and age almost everyone is held accountable for doing their job so why can I take no action against said people for failing to do their job ??

 

[True Blue Jack]

You are right to be frustrated. Just a quick word in your PSF's defence: The operational allowance was announced, out of the blue, shortly after you returned. Not only was there a massive backlog to work through, but initially there was no way for JPA to pay it.

I think I am right in saying that most people received the money they were owed in December, and on the face of it there is no reason for you not to have received yours at the same time.

Right now you are in the same position as me - JPA is down in preparation for Army go-live, so nobody can do anything.

I would suggest that you get your bank to write you a letter stating how much interest you would have been paid on the money owed over the period 1 Jan to 30 Apr and tell the Chf Clk you want the RAF to refund you. It works if you incur bank charges because you have been underpaid, so it's got to be worth a go.

 

[Humble Scribe]

There could be a couple of reason's you haven't been paid your OA. The procedure was that the BS&D cell at Inns sent out spreadsheets to all Chf Clks in Nov detailling all personnel they thought should be entitled to the OA; PSF had to verify the information and return to Inns who would forward to JPA for payment. Any missing personnel should have been added to the spreadsheet.

For end Dec/Jan/Feb another spreadsheet was forwarded and same process was gone through and PSF's had the opportunity to add anyone who hadn't previously been paid the OA; this is where your details should have been included. Most people should have received the OA by now who had returned from OOA up to end Jan 07.

The reason you might not have been picked up for payment could be that your det was not actioned to JPA or not actioned correctly; obviously we can't tell until next week. If your det is on JPA then PSF may not have verified the information sent to them by Inns, in which case you're quite entitled to give them a rocket! That said, I have personally forwarded an individuals claim for the OA twice to the BS&D cell and they also remain unpaid although they acknowledge that they have received it!!

Unfortunately, I can't give you any answers as to when you'll be paid but there's no reason why your PSF shouldn't be able to after JPA is back on line. TBJ is correct in the fact that you can ask for interest charges to be creditted to you and again OC PSF should be able to write a case for this to happen. I have seen a couple of cases recently where personnel have got interest back from the JPAC!

 

[The Loan Ranger]

Cheers for the replies and I do understand that there were loads of people entitled to this all at once and the fact that it was/is a huge job, my main gripe is really why is there no recourse agianst someone not doing the job the say they've done??

I will hold my hands up to being a Stacker and have in my years worked at a few fast jet units an Sqn's and if I didn't do what I was supposed to do then firstly the TM's would get all hot under the collar then the JEngO and shortly after the SEngO and I would have been on OC Supply's office first thing explaining myself (luckily this never happened), NCR/QOR action would be taken to stop any repeat of this happening again....

 

[True Blue Jack]

NCR/QOR action would be taken to stop any repeat of this happening again....

NCR never invaded the shiney world (I have never heard the term QOR - what is it?). I don't know why, I think it would be a good thing. Quite often problems with people's pay is not the fault of the clerk in PSF/on the sqn, but as long as we can prove that we can identify exactly where the failings are.
We know what the answer is, but it would be reassuring to have it in black and white. The grown ups might even sit up and take notice.

 

[KingGuin]

There could be a couple of reason's you haven't been paid your OA. The procedure was that the BS&D cell at Inns sent out spreadsheets to all Chf Clks in Nov detailling all personnel they thought should be entitled to the OA; PSF had to verify the information and return to Inns who would forward to JPA for payment. Any missing personnel should have been added to the spreadsheet.

For end Dec/Jan/Feb another spreadsheet was forwarded and same process was gone through and PSF's had the opportunity to add anyone who hadn't previously been paid the OA; this is where your details should have been included. Most people should have received the OA by now who had returned from OOA up to end Jan 07.

The reason you might not have been picked up for payment could be that your det was not actioned to JPA or not actioned correctly; obviously we can't tell until next week. If your det is on JPA then PSF may not have verified the information sent to them by Inns, in which case you're quite entitled to give them a rocket! That said, I have personally forwarded an individuals claim for the OA twice to the BS&D cell and they also remain unpaid although they acknowledge that they have received it!!

Unfortunately, I can't give you any answers as to when you'll be paid but there's no reason why your PSF shouldn't be able to after JPA is back on line. TBJ is correct in the fact that you can ask for interest charges to be creditted to you and again OC PSF should be able to write a case for this to happen. I have seen a couple of cases recently where personnel have got interest back from the JPAC![/QUOTE]

Seriously? I have been in PSF a long time and have yet to hear of any case that succeeded. I would (professionally) be interested in details as payment of interest charges sets a precedent and provides a lever for future use.

 

[Kernow]

NCR never invaded the shiney world (I have never heard the term QOR - what is it?). I don't know why, I think it would be a good thing. Quite often problems with people's pay is not the fault of the clerk in PSF/on the sqn, but as long as we can prove that we can identify exactly where the failings are.
We know what the answer is, but it would be reassuring to have it in black and white. The grown ups might even sit up and take notice.

At a large transport base with an ageing and an Ice Cream Sqn the NCRs were used for the shiney world as well. I hasten to add that it was only the techies that used them. The system worked well to be honest when you had to produce in writing where the problem lay, not only for the individual and PSF that had been NCR'd in identifying where there was a problem, but also to show that the majority of the time it was a SAMA glitch etc rather than the trusty on-base and easy to abuse scribbly. The problem that we had though was if it was found to be a PMA issue then the NCR did nothing but identify the problem as it was a unit form.

Also I stand to be corrected but I think QOR is Quality Observation Report

 

[Humble Scribe]

Yep! One was a girly who incurred bank charges due to non-payment of salary and the other received 200 notes as they failed to pay FRI for plenty of months. Don't go to the JPAC PACC there's another section in Glasgow; I'll PM you the section next week as I'm not in 'til then but it was easy, just one letter and the money appeared as 'Service Charges' on the pay statement!

 

[rottonapple]

I will hold my hands up to being a Stacker and have in my years worked at a few fast jet units an Sqn's and if I didn't do what I was supposed to do then firstly the TM's would get all hot under the collar then the JEngO and shortly after the SEngO and I would have been on OC Supply's office first thing explaining myself (luckily this never happened), NCR/QOR action would be taken to stop any repeat of this happening again....

QA is going to happen in the shiney world soon , Its already in the AP100C - 10 but its up to the relevant stn cdrs when to start introducing it .

It's going to be a major culture shock to the shinies , Another amazon rain forest will be used up on QORs.DT_Xtremez_30:

 

[POB]

I have been promised my missing wages from last April in this April's pay...That will be a whole 12 months late. If there are ways of getting interest can you make them pulic...TVM

 

[True Blue Jack]

QA is going to happen in the shiney world soon , Its already in the AP100C - 10 but its up to the relevant stn cdrs when to start introducing it .

It's going to be a major culture shock to the shinies , Another amazon rain forest will be used up on QORs.DT_Xtremez_30:

I thought the whole AP100 series were technical manuals? Could you publish the relevant extract?

Like I said, QA for us shineys can only be a good thing, but I believe the directive to introduce it would have to come from Air Officer Administration.

 

[Humble Scribe]

I have been promised my missing wages from last April in this April's pay...That will be a whole 12 months late. If there are ways of getting interest can you make them pulic...TVM

Speak to Chf Clk/OC PSF. They write to Glasgow supporting your case and, in my experience, they pay up. I'll find out the section name at Glasgow next week.

 

[Kernow]

QA is going to happen in the shiney world soon , Its already in the AP100C - 10 but its up to the relevant stn cdrs when to start introducing it .

It's going to be a major culture shock to the shinies , Another amazon rain forest will be used up on QORs.DT_Xtremez_30:

As I said in my previous it had happened somewhere else. The first week in the job getting a handover and I was QA'd. As a result of not being shown where everything was held and other bits, I ended up writing work procedures (during my leave) for a system I still didn't know. Felt really proud about it especially when the procedures were duly filed by the Wobbly PSF and forgotten.

QA in the shiney world is only ever going to help. To make the system as a whole accountable for their actions and hopefully help the individuals learn from their mistakes can only be a good thing.

Though when I was pinged for not raising a F6000 when requested. When explaining my reasons I put that I had simply forgot due to other tasks (i.e. dealing with Op Fresco manning). The recommendation included remembering not to forget!

 

[True Blue Jack]

One of the difficulties of QA in the shiney world is that prioritisation of tasks is not as simple as it may be elsewhere, and it is far easier to see our failures than our successes.

Everybody sees their pay problem as our No.1 priority. Unfortunately, there is a lot of other stuff that we do to fixed timelines (prepping people for OOA, termination of service, appraisals, etc.). Sometimes, "routine" problems necessarily get pushed to the bottom of the pile. This is virtually impossible to explain to the poor sod who just wants to be paid properly this month.

 

[rottonapple]

One of the difficulties of QA in the shiney world is that prioritisation of tasks is not as simple as it may be elsewhere, and it is far easier to see our failures than our successes.

Everybody sees their pay problem as our No.1 priority. Unfortunately, there is a lot of other stuff that we do to fixed timelines (prepping people for OOA, termination of service, appraisals, etc.). Sometimes, "routine" problems necessarily get pushed to the bottom of the pile. This is virtually impossible to explain to the poor sod who just wants to be paid properly this month.

In the techie world we don't even get to proiritise work, we just work till it's done

 

[Humble Scribe]

In the techie world we don't even get to proiritise work, we just work till it's done

That's why you're on the higher pay band and we're not!!!

 

[True Blue Jack]

In the techie world we don't even get to proiritise work, we just work till it's done

That's the difference. Bottom line is, the whole of your primary duty - getting the jets airworthy - is "operationally essential", whereas we can't apply that label to everything we do. Also, to be fair, if you haven't been able to finish a job during the day then the night shift takes over. My work is my work and I have to eat and sleep some time, although people who know me will tell you I have often gone without both in order to get things done.

 

[rottonapple]

I thought the whole AP100 series were technical manuals? Could you publish the relevant extract?

I haven't got access to it at the moment but it's on the intranet somewhere.

 

[The Loan Ranger]

Prepping for OOA

Prepping for OOA

Unfortunately, there is a lot of other stuff that we do to fixed timelines (prepping people for OOA

I understand that you have other duties to do including the above, on my afore mentioned DWR I received prep certificates 12 months prior to my date then as I got them filled in I handed them in and lo and behold I'd been brought forward 4months and as I handed over my docs I picked up the next set, I was still 4months away from my date and the guy I was replacing had only just arrived in Bosnia....

I've heard about forward planning but doing it 12 months ahead of time must be some kind of record, or are the Admin world psychic

Yes I have been called forward on my DWR, in fact my last 3 have all been brought forward by at least 4 months with one giving me no more than 3 weeks notice to fly, luckily for the Admin bod handed my file I was in date with everything needed and could actually manage to leave with 23 days notice, then again you didn’t have to hear what the other half had to say when I told her, and the answer “life in a blue suit” doesn’t work when the pots and pans start flying

 

[True Blue Jack]

and the answer “life in a blue suit” doesn’t work when the pots and pans start flying

I know exactly what you mean. I've just come back from Bos having had 5 weeks notice in total. That's the point, though. It's when we get short notice deployments that "routine" stuff gets put on the back burner.