Claiming mileage
Fliss_M
Forumite 694 Posts
hi, my DH is looking to join the RAFP in Sept. If he gets in and passed all his training its looking like getting the cheapest place on base and travelling home for his days off.
This is due to me having a full time job so I cant leave and if we rented theres no way we could get a rent to cover the mortgage (its a 0.99% tracker on £108000 and house is 2 bed so while now would work, in 1 years time when the rates go up no way)
So I have read you can claim for the cost of travelling home this way. Anybody know any more? And how much from his wage we would be looking at for the cheapest they do? I had read in their mag it was £38 p/w inc. food utilities etc. Do you know if these utilities includes internet connection?
Thanks.
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This is due to me having a full time job so I cant leave and if we rented theres no way we could get a rent to cover the mortgage (its a 0.99% tracker on £108000 and house is 2 bed so while now would work, in 1 years time when the rates go up no way)
So I have read you can claim for the cost of travelling home this way. Anybody know any more? And how much from his wage we would be looking at for the cheapest they do? I had read in their mag it was £38 p/w inc. food utilities etc. Do you know if these utilities includes internet connection?
Thanks.
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4 children, 2 cars, 2 full time working parents, large detached house and the will to save every money saving penny we can
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He will stay in the mess. Assuming he's a junior rank rather than an officer that will be, at most, £2/day plus, iirc, £22/year payment in lieu of council tax. For that amount he will get a single, en-suite room (think a halls-of-residence study bedroom type of thing)
That will include heating & elec.
His room may or may not have a phone point in which case he will pay commercial rates for phone/internet. Mobile dongle may be a (cheaper) option depending on signal
Food will be extra, £3-4/day as a guesstimate depending on how much he eats :-)
He wont stay in any Mess. He is a Junior rank and will be accommodated in Junior ranks accommodation. The standard can vary drastically from unit to unit. If he is lucky he may get a unit with 'super blocks' which have en suite, although there can be a waiting list for these rooms on units as there is not always enough to go round.
The good news is the rooms that are not en suite are cheaper per day.
If he wants a phone line then he pays the installation fee and rental. Most have mobiles and dongles.
Food charges again depends if he is on a PAYD unit or not. The costs are roughly the same if he elects to use the PAYD facility. If he doesnt then the food costs go up unless he lives on pot noodles and toast.
I suspect he will use the PAYD unit. I did suspect a dongle would be needed. Hope it is £2 for accom and £3 for food. It works out per month what I was expecting (compared with what the mag said they sent)
You say about 'super blocks'. I presume there will be a room for him. Ether single en-suit or room with 4 other lads? Just thinking if there arent any rooms he may have to pay more?
cheers again
First off, take a look at the RAF Pay Scales here -
http://www.rafcom.co.uk/pay_allowances/pay/2009/raf_air_09.htm
This is the 2009-2010 pay levels that we have, there are only 2 levels, high & the lower. I am unsure if the RAF P are on the higher or lower, but ill assume the higher due to the lots of out of area turn-arounds.
1, As he will be a new recruit to the RAF, for the first 9 weeks of entry to the service. He will paid in the form of the new entrant pay. This is shown to be £13,3774.
Once he has completed basic training, he will then enter RAF P training ( i think this is 12 weeks).
2, Upon entering RAF P training, i assume he will be promoted to the rank of LAC (Leading Air-Craftsman) and will jump onto Level 1 pay of £16,681 if its the higher band. I wont quote the lower pay.
3, I assume again upon completition of the RAF P training course, he will receive promotion to CPL. This being a jump onto Level 1, Cpl pay of £27,051 per year.
From there, every 12 months pay levels will increase. So if he gets put up to Level 1 CPL on march 1st 2010, then it will be 1st march 2010 before he reaches Level 2 pay.
Im only a ickle SAC, but ive been on Level 9 (Higher band) now for a few years.
Basic pay for me is £28,372, i drive to work each day which is 42 each way, from this i receive something that is called HTD (Home-to-duty) which pays for the upkeep of the car. My take home after tax & NI is just over £2052 inc HTD allowance. This is about £220 a month.
So based upon that, Level 2 Cpl / Level 9 Sac take home would be based upon £2052 - £220 = £1830. (Pay with HTD - HTD Given)
Then you can add on food & accomodation charges. Depending where he is, depends on the rate they pay. A nice double bed / en-suite is about £50 a month, a 20 man room with bunkbeds at Marham is prob about £15 a month.
Pay after tax - £1820
Accomodation - £50
Food - £130
Sports Lottery - £6
Service Days Giving - £3
Total Pay (Take home) - £1631
Normally, if its not PAY-Starve (Pay-Dine), then the food & accomodation is taken out of the pay before you receive it. So what you get is yours to spend. Usually pay increases / charges are a few months behind. So pay rise 1st march, maybe paid may / june time in back pay.
The above is based upon completing the courses, and getting promotion to Cpl as expected for the trade. ie 12months after joining the service.
New recruit & LAC level 1 pay is not worth calculating.
Did you know that other people, within the RAF rent there houses out, and live in married Quarters. Just because you live in the Notts area, doesnt mean that he will be posted to the area.
Have you thought what will happen if he was posted to Lossiemouth, or Kinloss.? What about Valley, St Athan etc. Some of these places are not commuteable. Lossie can take 14-18hours to drive there.There are even some nice or bad overseas postings.
I would start to prepare to move, as until he receives his notification of posting (where he is going) you never know. It could be anywhere..
Welcome to the forum, and to keep you busy.
Here is a website showing the locations of all RAF Bases within the Uk.
http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/stations.cfm
Just because he will be in the RAF, doesnt mean that he will be serving with the RAF.
Have fun,
Regards,
Alias
Alias, I know what your saying about bases. I fully expect him to be posted anywhere. But as I say, its not my area, its rent covering a 95% (and currently neg equity) mortgage that I know wont happen. You would expect to pay £600 per month for a 4 bed in this area, not a 2 bed, no matter how nice. Plus I have my job and career to think of. We both work full time to make ends meet. I dont know that we could on just 1, especially not with the debts anyway. It mayb something to look at later.
Currently were preparing for him to live away most of the time, coming back on his 2 days off (what ever days they mayb)
Am sure I will post again later tonight, am normally excellent with numbers but right now thinking hurts (dambed head) so I will have more questions. Cheers again chaps.
Just to clarify:
RAF Police training is nearer 22 weeks.
He will be on the higher pay band, only FS and WO on lower band.
He will leave training an LAC Acting Cpl - not paid Cpl rank. He will be earnign alot less than in the example above. ~ After a year as an LAC he will be promoted to SAC Acting Cpl - SAC pay. He then competes for promotion to Cpl, which is a minimum of 3 years.
As for accommodation, there will be a room for him on the Unit, unlikely to get a 4 man room in the RAF outside of training. Most rooms on Units are singles. It all depends on where he goes on the standard of accommodation and availability when he gets there.
i know nothing about the RAF P within the RAF...
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