What you need to know about the New Joiner Offer
Published 15 June 2017
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What is the New Joiner Offer?
The New Joiner Offer (NJO) is one of a number of projects emerging from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, which sit within the Armed Forces People Programme (AFPP).
The ‘offer’ is the totality of the Terms and Conditions of Service under which service personnel serve.
The New Joiner Offer Project is seeking to develop a new offer for those who join the armed forces from 2020. It aims to improve recruitment and retention whilst reducing costs in the overall reward package through more efficient delivery of reward.
The project is still in the early phases of policy design and is reviewing all aspects of the offer.
Why are we developing a New Joiner Offer?
The current offer is failing to attract sufficient numbers of the people defence needs and has remained broadly similar for many years. Research now shows that the next generation has different expectations of what they want from a career, with a greater focus on variety, choice and flexibility of employment. We need a new offer that has the flexibility to respond to future societal changes or the armed forces offer will become increasingly out of step with the employment expectations of our recruits.
At the same time the cost of the current offer continues to rise. The gradual reduction of the armed forces has kept personnel costs stable, but further reductions to the size of the services are not an option. If we do nothing the next 10 years will see defence facing a significant deficit in personnel costs. Defence must live within its means and the New Joiner Offer must achieve savings, but it must also attract and retain the people we need.
When will it be implemented?
The aim is for the New Joiner Offer to be available from 2020.
How does it fit in with NEM?
The New Joiner Offer will build on the achievements of New Employment Model (NEM) with the aim of recruiting the servicemen and women of tomorrow. NEM, an initiative flowing from the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, reformed the terms and conditions of service for those currently serving in the armed forces. NEM has already brought significant benefits and we remain committed to delivering the programme and complete implementation by 2017.
Who will it apply to?
The New Joiner Offer is intended for new entrants who join the services from 2020.
The Armed Forces People Programme
The New Joiner Offer is part of a programme of projects, co-ordinated by the Armed Forces People Programme (AFPP). Under the AFPP, the Ministry of Defence is modernising its employment offer to service personnel to be more relevant, attractive and flexible for our people in the 21st Century, whilst being both affordable and sustainable for the future.
The other change projects include:
- Future Accommodation Model (FAM)
FAM aims to deliver a more sustainable accommodation model for the future, which provides greater choice and better support for all service personnel to get the housing they need, regardless of age, rank, or relationship status.
The MOD is examining how it can improve flexible working opportunities, building upon existing flexible working and the experiences drawn from the Flexible Duties Trial. Options under development for introduction in 2019 are temporary periods of part-time working and/or limits to separated service. These changes will mean greater continuity between regular and reserve service, the latter of which is expected to benefit from greater access to higher commitment roles amongst regulars.
- Enterprise Approach (EA)
The EA concept phase is exploring alternative terms and conditions of service for members of the armed forces, Civil Service, contractors, and people in their supply chain, to support our national security in a different way to how we have done so in the past.