Bounty - are we worth it...?

I know this will get a few people's backs up but follows a conversation at our last drill night...

Given the current JPA debacle and rush to get bounty, this got me wondering about the merits of bounty. I certainly was not aware of this payment when I decided to join but it is a nice little fillip to the finances! However, given the current budget strictures just think how much more training/travel/equipment could be funded if we waived our entitlement?

If we take a ball park 2000 RNR with an average bounty entitlement of £500 (as a rough guesstimate), that's £1m back in the pot...better still, use this to fund equipment for front line troops where its really needed.

I have heard the argument that it is vital to retention, but surely better traing and equipment would also help? We get paid (in theory) for the time we put in and for expenses incurred (again in theory!). This seems to be a drain on resource in a time of financial hardship.

I will don my flak jacket now and run for cover.....

 

I would.....very fast!!!

To me the bounty payment helps /recompense me for the amount of work I have to put in outside of RNR time organising training etc etc which I dont get paid for! Based on the unpaid time I put in I would need a bounty payment of double its current level to get even close!

Besides...you would be surprised how many people dont qualify for bounty I have heard figures that some units were only running at a 50-60% bounty qualification rate....how accurate this is not to sure!

 

Oi mate, you waive your entitlement if you want but I would refer you to the JPA thread in which it is clear that pay generally is an issue.

I can assure that that I will not only want my bounty this year but also any interest on the £1000 that is owed me.

 

Of course you are worth it Rosina, and so is every one else. I certainly thought I was worth it when I got it many moons ago.

The bounty has been an integral part of the RNR budget for as long as can remeber and should remain so.

 

Keep the Bounty - the year i don't qualify for bounty, is the same year i'm gone..

 

the whole point of bounty (imho) is as a retainer.
we want you to do XY and Z, plus CMR inspections, Captains divs, NBCD weekends etc etc.
in return you are given a "prize" of £1500 approx.
it's a simple carrot on a stick evolution. no :?:

 

Has anyone resolved the question of whether or not it is in lieu of contribution to armed forces pension?

This was discussed on another thread, to divided opinion.

 

Not sure I entirely agree - inspections, divisions, NBCD is all part and parcel of what we do surely? Should a bus driver recieve a bonus for turning up on time? No, its a requirement of his paid job.

I am playing devil's advocate to a degree but I still haven't been convinced by the arguments to the positive - surely cash is not the motivation for retention, and if it is then there must be some bigger issues here (and yes I know the pay system is crap and people are owed money, but shiuld this be used as a salve?)??

 

appreciate the fact you are playing DA; but it is a fact that reservists do it for the money. i would not like to say which proportion, but i will bet signifigent.
it is also a wonderful sop to her indoors when you pay for the family holiday - outright. tax free. life is all about balance. :wink:

 

The existence of the bounty enables a unit to specify their own bounty requirements in addition to those specified by branch. Granted, it's never anything huge - a handful of compulsory attendance drill nights and some ceremonial.

 

Believe me, even if your figures are correct at approx £1M that is a mere drop in the ocean, you might just get a basic Harrier Engine for that! It's far better spent as an incentive for the RNR, possibly the cheapest retainer for 2000 people in any industry in the world!

 

If someone wants to give up a perk to fund better facilities etc for more deserving causes can I suggest that useless bunch of tossers in the Houses of Parliament sacrifice some of their non-essential benefits like secretarial expenses, 1st class travel, protected pension schemes, research expenses, foreign junkets etc etc etc - You would get a damn sight more than £1 million back if they made a few sensible housekeeping cuts (and there are a lot less of them than there are RNRs!)

 

Well said, and I completely concur, we may even get some of those Harrier Pegasus Engines I mentioned out of the small change!

 

In a word, yes. Of course we're worth it.

You can explain to my misses why I am in some horrible place thousands of miles from home over Christmas, and at the drop of a hat.

You can tell my employer why I sod off PDQ every drill night to shoot across country to make it on time.

You can tell my family why, after a full weeks work, I head straight to an appropraite base for a weekends training.

I could go on, I am in no way saying our regular collegaues don't dig out, but then again we don't get X-factor and frankly we don't get the same levels of support or benefits that they deservedly receive.

As to using the money to finance the training we're missing. You're having a laugh aren't you!!!!! It would simple be swallowed up in some cost cutting exercise.

So stop giving the bean counters stupid ideas and shut the **** up!!!

AND BREATHE!!!!

 

I always saw it as compensation for the inconveniances for reservist life. When I went full time I certainly missed my annual bounty! As someone said it made a nice reward for all the time and hassle spent as I used mine to pay for my holiday. And £1million is not even a peanut, eg each Type 45 will probably cost about £750 million, and rising!

 

yes, yes and yes.......

we are worth every penny that we earn through the rnr. I can honestly say I've not been on a planned jolly since I joined 4.5 years ago. I regularly contribute to the branch training, I am a member of the mess committee in unit, I am at every training evening I possibly can be, I try never to say an outright "No" to anything, I spend, like many on here, untold hours preparing lectures, lessons, PTP's, training aplications, task book assingments and so on....unpaid. So when It comes down to it the bounty is a SMALL thankyou from the Navy for my efforts. Over the last 4 years I have averaged 40 training days paid per year.....I would estimate at least double that in unpaid time that I have given.

I am not alone in this I know of several, JR's and Higher rates/ranks, that are equally generous in what they give.

Yes we are worth every single gddamned last penny.

 

COCK!!!

I think that just about sums up my thoughts!

 

As we have few benefits please don’t take away our only big one. Besides CICNAGHOME would complain.

 

I have heard some naive ideas, but if anyone thought that if we forgo bounty, it would be spent on training - I have heard some funny ideas, but this just about takes the prize. CMR would either use it as savings or more likey use it to put more people onto FTRS to recruit. They would not spend it on the RNR!

It is interesting that the CMR are spending all this money on Lt Cdr to recruit and not a single person is focused on retention. I bet if they doubled bounty, more people would meet their commitment. BTW my estimate that we are now spending about £5,000 on each person that is recruited (mind you the army admited that their £2.8m TV recruitment campaigned failed!).

So let's not talk about cutting bounty, let's talk about increasing bounty. I bet you if it was £2,000/year more people would stay in the RNR, and the number meeting their annual commitments would increase. The increase in bounty could be funded by getting rid of 5 Lt Cdr on FTRS looking at recruitment, there are far cheaper and easier ways to recruit.