Tri-service reserves continuous attitude survey 2023: main report
Published 13 July 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tri-service-reserves-continuous-attitude-survey-2023/tri-service-reserves-continuous-attitude-survey-2023-main-report
This survey of Volunteer Reserves covers satisfaction with various aspects of being a reservist. These statistics are used to inform the development of policy and measure the impact of decisions affecting reservists, such as those relating to the development of a modernised employment offer for the Armed Forces.
1. Key Points and Trends
1.1 Reserves continue to have high levels of satisfaction with Service life, but there are Service differences.
Three quarters of Volunteer Reserves (75%) are satisfied with Service life in general, which is the same level as last year. The Maritime Reserves have the lowest level of satisfaction (64%) compared to the other Services, followed by RAF Reserve at 70% and Army Reserves have the highest levels of satisfaction (77%).
Figure 1: Satisfied: Satisfaction with life in the [Service] Reserve in general by Service
1.2 Satisfaction with Reserve Pay is at its lowest level since 2015 and down 12 percentage points since 2021.
Satisfaction with Reserve Pay has fallen for the second year in a row to its lowest level since ResCAS began in 2015 (45%). This is down 12 percentage points since 2021 (57%).
Figure 2: Satisfied: Satisfaction with Reserve Service pay each year since 2015
1.3 Reserves are responding more positively to many areas of Reserve Service compared to 2015 baseline.
Since the 2015 baseline survey, the top three areas of increase across all three Services are the civilian employer values the Reserve Service, the civilian employer supports the Reserve Service and feeling valued by Regulars.
Figure 3: Agree: Main civilian employer values and supports Reserve Service and I feel valued by Regulars against the baseline year
Responsible Statistician: Surveys Head of Branch
Email: AnalysisSurveys-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk
Background Quality Report: ResCAS webpage
Would you like to be added to our contact list, so that we can inform you about updates to these statistics and consult you if we are thinking of making changes? You can subscribe to updates by emailing AnalysisSurveys-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk.
2. Introduction
The Reserves Continuous Attitude Survey (ResCAS) is a Tri-Service annual survey of volunteer reservists and is one of the main ways that the department gathers information on the attitudes and experiences of volunteer reservists. The data is used to inform and shape decisions and policy development in a range of areas including remuneration, training, equipment, support, and Conditions of Service (COS). The survey was distributed between January and March 2023 (online and paper for Army, online for RAF and Maritime Reserves).
Tri-Service questions were first asked in 2014. However, due to substantial changes in 2015 to the ResCAS Army survey methodology and to the Army and RAF target populations, 2014 results are not comparable and no comparisons to the 2014 results have been made in this publication. UK trained Regular personnel results are presented in some places for contextual information, sourced from the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey 2023 (*AFCAS 2023). No statistical significance testing has been completed between AFCAS and ResCAS data.
In 2023, two Tri-Service questions were introduced aiming to understand awareness of “Service for Experienced Rejoiner and Volunteer Engagements” (SERVE) and views on change management. This is also the first year questions on Fairness at Work have been published broken down by ethnicity and sex. Data for these questions goes back to 2019. Further data for these questions questions can be found in the accompanying reference tables published alongside this report.
2.1 Response Rates:
3,966 responses were received representing a response rate of 19%, down fourteen percentage points since 2020.
Figure 4: ResCAS 2023 Response Rates
Reference tables and a list of the Tri-Service ResCAS 2023 questions are published as separate documents and can be found on the *ResCAS webpage.
Please see the Background Quality Report for full details of survey methodology, analysis, and data quality considerations.
Only differences that are statistically significant are commented on in this report; statistical tests were carried out at the 99% confidence level. This is at a fairly stringent level and means that there should be less than a 1% (1 in 100) chance that differences observed in ResCAS results are not representative of the Volunteer Reserves as a whole. This reduces the likelihood of wrongly concluding that there has been an actual change based on the survey results, which only cover a sample of the Volunteer Reserves.
3. Summary of attitudinal questions (highest to lowest positive scoring)
Figure 5: Summary of Attitudinal Questions (Part 1 of 2)
Figure 6: Summary of Attitudinal Questions (Part 2 of 2)
4. Summary of changes compared to baseline (attitudinal questions only: % Positive responses)
The summary charts below show statistically significant increases and decreases in percent positive responses compared to the 2015 baseline. Tri-Service changes are largely driven by the Army Reserve as the Army Reserve is a large constituent of the total Volunteer Reserves population.
Figure 7: Summary of changes against the baseline (Part 1 of 3)
Figure 8: Summary of changes against the baseline (Part 2 of 3)
Figure 9: Summary of changes against the baseline (Part 3 of 3)
5. Summary of Service differences (attitudinal questions only: % Positive responses)
The summary chart below shows the results to questions where one Reserve Service has scored significantly higher than both the other two Reserve Services and where one Reserve Service has scored significantly lower than both the other two Reserve Services.
Figure 10: Summary of Service differences
6. Summary of Officer and Other Rank differences (attitudinal questions only: % Positive responses)
There are many aspects of being in the Volunteer Reserves where Officers respond statistically significantly more positively than Other Ranks. This includes being able to transfer skills between their military and civilian employment, pay, using civilian skills in the military, the amount of leadership training they have received and feeling valued by Regulars. Other Ranks are more likely to feel motivated to help achieve the Reserves achieve it’s objectives compared to Officers, that life is better in the [Service] Reserve compared to when they first joined and that the Reserve inspires them to do the best in their job.
Figure 11: Summary of Officer and Other Rank differences
7. Overall satisfaction and commitment
Volunteer Reserves have high levels of satisfaction with life in their Service in general (75%), are proud to be part of their Reserve Service (92%), and would reccomend joining the [Service] Reserves to others (83%).
Figure 12: Satisfied: Satisfaction with life in the [Service] Reserve in general & Agree: Proud to be in the [Service] Reserve and recommend joining the [Service] Reserve against baseline year
Maritime Reserves still report a lower satisfaction in Service life from 70% in 2021 to 64% in 2023. Satisfaction with life in the Maritime Reserves are also less likely to agree they’d recommending joining to others than the other two Reserve Services (81% in 2021 to 73% in 2023).
RAF Reserve levels of satisfaction with life in the Service has remained stable this year, but is still down since 2021 (79% in 2021, 70% in 2023). Those agreeing in the RAF they’d recommend joining to others is unchanged (84% in 2023).
Army levels for satisfaction with Service life (77% in 2023) has remained unchanged since 2015 and recommending joining to others (84% in 2023) is unchanged compared to last year.
The below chart (Figure 13) shows the stability in satisfaction with life in the Reserves in general by Service since last year.
Figure 13: Satisfied: Satisfaction with life in the [Service] Reserve in general by Service against last year
The majority of Volunteer Reserves agree they have a strong personal attachment to the Service (72%), feel that their Service inspires them to do the best in their job (67%), and feel that their Service motivates them to help it achieve its objectives (62%).
Army Reserve levels of personal attachment, inspiration and motivation to achieve Service goals have remained stable compared to baseline 2018 levels, whilst Maritime and RAF Reserves have decreased since baseline 2018 levels.
The below chart (Figure 14) shows how there are no Service differences between those agreeing the Service inspires them to do the best in their role and those who feel the Service motivates them to help it achieve it’s objectives. However, the Army Reserves are less likely to feel a strong personal attachment to the Reserves.
Figure 14: Agree: The [Service] Reserve inspires me to do the best in my role, motivates me to help it acheve it’s objectives and I feel a strong personal attachment to the [Service] Reserves by Service
8. Feeling valued in the Reserves
Four in ten (37%) Volunteer Reserves feel valued by Regulars, whilst three in ten (28%) disagree. A third of Reservists neither agree nor disagree that they feel valued by Regulars which may, at least in part, reflect a lack of contact between Reservists and Regulars (AFCAS 2023 results show that 47% of Regulars have had working contact with Reserves in the last 2 years).
RAF and Maritime Reserves feel the most valued by Regulars (45% and 44% respectively in 2023), although for the RAF Reserve this has decreased since last year (54% in 2022). Although there has been an increase of Army Reserves feeling valued by Regulars since baseline (29% in 2015, 35% in 2023), they remain less likely to feel valued compared to the other Services.
Figure 15: Agree: I feel valued by Regulars broken down by Service against baseline year
The proportion of Officers feeling valued by Regulars (43%) is at the same level as in 2015 (baseline). This has decreased since last year (48% in 2022). Other Ranks have also increased in feeling valued by Regulars from 28% in 2015 (baseline) to 35% in 2023.
Officers (43%) are more likely to feel valued by Regulars compared to Other Ranks (35%).
Figure 16: Agree: I feel valued by Regulars broken down by Rank against baseline year
Just under half (48%) of Volunteer Reserves feel valued by society. This remains consistent with 2015 baseline levels, but is down from last year (52% in 2022).
Figure 17: Agree: I feel valued by society by Service against baseline year
9. Fairness in the Reserves
The majority of Volunteer Reserves agree that they are treated fairly (82%) and agree that the Service discipline system is fair (78%).
Over one in ten (13%) of Volunteer Reserves reported that they have been subject to any bullying, discrimination, or harassment in a Service environment in the last 12 months. This is an increase on last year (10% in 2022) after a period of steadiness since 2019 (9%) when the question was first asked. Although direct comparisons have not been made, figures from AFCAS 2023 have been provided in the chart below for contextual information.
Figure 18: Yes: Believe you have been subject to bullying, discrimination, harassment or any of the above in a Service environment in the last 12 months broken down by Reserves and Regulars
There were no differences in the last 12 months between White ethnicities and Ethnic minorities in feeling that they are treated fairly or feeling that they had experienced any bullying, harassment or discrimination.
Figure 19: Agree: Treated fairly in the [Service] Reserve & Yes: Believe you have been subject to bullying, discrimination, harassment or any of the above in a Service environment in the last 12 months broken down by ethnicity
There was no difference between female and male Reservists in feeling that they are treated fairly in the Reserves. However, females (22%) are more likely to report being subject to bullying, discrimination or harassment in a Service environment in the last 12 months than males (11%).
Figure 20: Agree: Treated fairly in the [Service] Reserve & Yes: Believe you have been subject to bullying, discrimination, harassment or any of the above in a Service environment in the last 12 months broken down by gender
Of those Reservists that believe they have been subject to bullying, discrimination or harassment in a Service environment in the last 12 months (13%), one in ten (10%) have made a formal written complaint about this.
Of those Reservists that have made a formal written complaint about an incidence of bullying, discrimination, or harassment, 29% were satisfied with the outcome of the complaint while 39% were dissatisfied. Although direct comparisons have not been made, figures from AFCAS 2023 have been provided in the chart below for contextual information.
Figure 21: Yes: Made a formal complaint within the last 12 months about this bullying, discrimination and/or harassment & Satisfied: Satisfaction with the outcome broken down by Reserves against Regulars
25% of Reservists have heard of the Service Complaints Ombudsman (SCO) and know a lot about it, 57% have heard of SCO and know a little about it and 13% have heard of the SCO and know nothing about it. 5% have never head of the SCO. Over four in ten (44%) of Officers know a lot about the Service Complaints process compared to only 20% of Other Ranks and similarly with the Ombudsman, Officers are more aware (Officers 26% to Other Ranks 12%).
10. Civilian employment
There has been an increase in the proportion of Volunteer Reserves who report that their civilian employer supports and values their Reserve service, and who report that being a reservist is good for their civilian career compared to 2015 baseline levels (see chart below).
Figure 22: Agree: My main civilian employer supports my Reserve Service, values my Reserve service and being a reservist is good for my civilian career against the baseline year
A greater proportion of Reservists believe that they have been advantaged in a civilian job as a result of their Reserve Service in the last 12 months (22%) compared to the number of reservists that feel that they have been disadvantaged in a civilian job as a result of their Reserve Service (8%).
There has been a decrease in the proportion of reservists who feel that they have been unreasonably disadvantaged in a civilian job as a result of their Reserve Service (8%) in the last 12 months compared to the 2015 baseline (11% in 2025). The proportion of reservists who feel that they have been advantaged in a civilian job as a result of their reserve service in the last 12 months has increased (22% in 2023) compared to the 2015 baseline (see chart below).
Figure 23: Yes: Do you believe that you have been unreasonably disadvantaged or advantaged in a civilian job as a result of your Reserve Service in the last 12 months against the baseline year
Compared to Other Ranks, Officers are more likely to use skills gained through their military experience in their civilian employment (83% of Officers and 68% for Other Ranks) and to use their civilian skills in their Reserve Service (79% of Officers and 65% for Other Ranks).
Figure 24: Agree: I use skills gained through my military experience in my civilian employment and civilian skills in the [Service] Reserve broken down by Rank
11. Pay, allowances and admin support
There has been a decrease in satisfaction in Pay and Allowances within the Volunteer Reserves.
In 2015, 54% of Volunteer Reserves were satisfied with their Service Pay which has decreased to 45% in 2023, it’s lowest level recorded in the Survey so far. Satisfaction with the Annual bounty has decreased from 72% in 2015 to 65% in 2023. There has also been a decrease in satisfaction in Service expense allowances from 45% in 2015 to 41% in 2023.
However, satisfaction with admin support within the unit has increased from 59% in 2015 to 63% in 2023.
Figure 25: Satisfied: Satisfaction with Reserve Service pay, Annual Bounty, Reserves Service expense allowances and the admin support within your unit against the baseline year
Just over half (56%) of Officers are satisfied with their Reserve Service pay compared to 41% of Other Ranks. Satisfaction with pay is down over the last 12 months for Officers (62% in 2022 to 56% in 2023) and Other Ranks (47% in 2022 to 41% in 2023).
Although, there is no difference between Officers and Other Ranks being satisfied with the Reserve Service expense allowances (for travels etc), 38% of Officers are dissatisfied with the Reserve Service expense allowances compared to 30% of Other Ranks.
Figure 26: Satisfied: Satisfaction with your Reserve Service pay and expense allowances broken down by Rank
A greater proportion of Officers are satisfied with their Reserve Pay compared to Other Ranks for all of the Services (see chart below).
Figure 27: Satisfied: Satisfaction with Reserve Service pay by Service and Rank
12. Personal equipment/kit
Satisfaction with the availability of personal equipment/kit at a Tri Service level was 50% in 2023. However, there has been a decrease since 2021 where satisfaction was at 57%.
Satisfaction with the standard of personal equipment/kit has decreased at a Tri Service level with satisfaction at 59% in 2015 and 53% in 2023. There has been a decrease from 2021 where satisfaction was at 59%.
Figure 28: Satisfied: Satisfaction with the availability and standard of personal equipment to do your role compared against the baseline year
A slightly larger proportion of Officers are satisfied with the availability of the personal equipment (51%) compared to Other Ranks (49%). This is a decrease for Officers over the last 12 months (58% in 2022) but Other Ranks has remained stable since last year.
A larger proportion of the Officers are happy with the standard of the personal equipment/kit (56%) compared to Other Ranks (52%). There was a decrease from the 2015 baseline for both Officers (70% in 2015) and Other Ranks (57% in 2015).
Figure 29: Satisfied: Satisfaction with the availability and standard of personal equipment to do your role by Rank
Army Reserves are less satisfied with the availability of the personal equipment/kit (48%) compared to Maritime Reserves (55%) and RAF Reserves (62%).
Army Reserves are also less satisfied with the standard of their equipment/kit (51%) compared to Maritime Reserves (62%) and RAF Reserves (65%).
Army Reserves are less satisfied with the standard of equipment (51%) compared to 2015 baseline (58%).
Figure 30: Satisfied: Satisfaction with the availability and standard of personal equipment to do your role by Service
13. Career progression
Around half (49%) of Volunteer Reserves are satisfied with their career management within their unit but nearly a quarter (24%) are dissatisfied.
The proportion of Volunteer Reserves that are satisfied with their career management in their unit in 2023 is higher compared to 2015 baseline levels (44% in 2015). This is driven by the Army Reserves (42% in 2015, 49% in 2023).
Figure 31: Satisfied: Satisfaction with career management within your unit and opportunities for promotion compared against the baseline year
Volunteer Reserves satisfaction with their opportunities for promotion has remained stable since 2015 and was 40% in 2023.
RAF Reserve Officers are less satisfied with their opportunities for promotion compared to the Maritime and Army Reserves.
Figure 32: Satisfied: Satisfaction with opportunities for promotion by Service against the baseline year
Over half of Volunteer Reserves (55%) are satisfied with their opportunities for personal development which is an increase on baseline 2015 levels (47%). This is driven by Army Reserves (45% in 2015, 55% in 2023).
Opportunities for personal development is one of the most popular reasons given by respondents for joining the Volunteer Reserve and for remaining — see Reasons for joining and staying in the Reserves section.
Figure 33: Satisfied: Satisfaction with opportunities for personal development by Service against the baseline year
14. Training and development
The majority of Volunteer Reserves are satisfied with the amount (64%) of training and quality (68%) of training they have received for their current role. This has remained steady since 2015 baseline levels.
Figure 34: Satisfied: Satisfaction with the amount and quality of training received for current role against the baseline year
Around half (53%) of Volunteer Reserves are satisfied with the amount of leadership training received which has increased since the 2015 baseline (46%).
There has been a decrease in Volunteer Reserves being satisfied with their opportunities to take part in Adventurous Training (from 57% in 2015 to 53% in 2023). However, there has been an increase from 45% in 2022.
Figure 35: Satisfied: Satisfaction with the amount of leadership training received and opportunities to take part in Adventurous Training against the baseline year
The Maritime Reserve (63%) has the highest level of satisfaction with the amount of leadership training they have received compared to the Army Reserve (52%) and the RAF Reserve (48%).
At a Tri-Service level, more Officers (63%) are satisfied with the amount of leadership training they have received compared to under half of Other Ranks (50%).
However, there has been an increase since 2015 in Army Officer’s satisfaction with the amount of leadership training they have received, rising from 54% in 2015 to 63% in 2023.
Figure 36: Satisfied: Satisfaction with amount of leadership training received broken down by Service and Rank
15. Family Support
Nearly nine in ten (86%) of Volunteer Reserves feel that their family supports their Reserve Service, returning to 2015 baseline levels from a high in 2021 of 90%. Furthermore, over three quarters (78%) of Volunteer Reserves feel that their family values their Reserve service, returning to 2015 baseline levels from a high in 2021 of 83%.
Figure 37: Agree: My family supports and values my Reserve Service against the baseline year
16. Mobilisation
Overall, the number of Volunteer Reservists mobilised has increased since 2020 from 26% to 32% in 2023. However, this is still significantly lower than baseline 2015 levels (40%).
The percentage of Army Reserves being mobilised is lower than the 2015 baseline driving the Tri Service decrease (39% in 2015 to 29% in 2023 for Army). There are more Officers (40%) being mobilised than Other Ranks (29%).
However, the proportion of Reservist responding yes to being mobilised in the last three years remained stable between 2018 (when the question was first asked) and 2020. From 2020 (6%), there was an increase to 17% in 2021 and this remains stable at 16% in 2023. The largest increase is in Maritime Reserve Officers from 10% in 2020 to 31% in 2023.
Figure 38: Yes: Been mobilised as a Reservist compared against the baseline year
Although the reasons for such an increase are not immediately apparent, it may have been due, in part, to more Reservists being called up to assist with Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.
Of those Volunteer Reserves that have been mobilised (32%), around two-thirds (62%) are satisfied with the support they received from the Service when they were last mobilised. However, there are some Service differences.
Two thirds (67%) of the RAF Reserve and 65% of the Army Reserve are satisfied with the support they received from the Service when they were last mobilised, however only 45% of the Maritime Reserves are satisfied.
Under half (43%) of Volunteer Reserves are satisfied with the support their family received from the Service when they were last mobilised.
Figure 39: Satisfied: Satisfaction with support you received from the [Service] when last mobilised and with support your family received from the [Service] when you were last mobilised broken down by Service
17. Reasons for joining and staying in the Reserves
The top 5 reasons for joining the Volunteer Reserve and the top 5 reasons for staying in the Volunteer Reserve are almost identical to the 2022 survey.
The top 5 reasons for joining the Reserves are: to serve my country (65%), personal development (61%), for the challenge (60%), to make a difference/do something worthwhile (56%) and for the excitement and adventure (56%).
The top 5 reasons for staying in the Reserves are: to serve my country (57%), the people, friends and camaraderie (57%), personal development (53%), for the challenge (49%), to make a difference/do something worthwhile (48%).
Taking a closer look at the reasons for joining, the data suggests that the reasons can be clustered in the following ways, where reasons within a cluster have a stronger association with each other than with reasons that appear in a different cluster:
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To serve my country, and to make a difference/do something worthwhile.
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For the challenge, personal development, and to do something different.
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For the excitement and adventure, to travel and experience new places, and to go on exercise or be deployed.
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For fitness and to do something active, and the courses/skills training on offer.
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To meet like minded people and make new friends, and the experience of Service life.
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Reserve pay or bounty, for the type of work, former Regular and wanted to carry on serving
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Career opportunities in the [Service] Reserve, to develop my civilian career, interested in joining the Regulars in the future, recommended by friends family or colleagues.
Figure 40: Main reasons for joining and staying in the [Service] Reserves
18. Reasons for leaving the Reserves
Of the 6% of Reservists that intended to leave the Reserves within the next year, 30% reported poor management and leadership, 29% reported they’ll have reached the Reserves retirement age and 25% reported they did not feel valued by the Service, as the 3 top reasons that played a part in their decision.
Results are not presented by Service or by Officers and Other Ranks due to the small number of reservists intending to stay in the Reserve for less than one year.
Figure 41: Reasons for leaving the [Service] Reserves
19. About You
This section provides some insight into the demographics of reservists.
It should be noted that these statistics are survey estimates of the Volunteer Reserves based on weighted survey data.
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More RAF Reservists are likely to be married/in a civil partnership (64%) compared to Maritime (47%) and Army (42%).
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Other Ranks (67%) are more likely to be in full-time employment compared to Officers (59%), though Officers in full time employment increased over the last twelve months (from 47% in 2022 to 59% in 2023).
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Less Maritime Reservists (3%) are in part-time employment compared to 5% for Army and 6% for RAF, whereas more RAF Reservists (12%) are not in civilian employment (not seeking employment) than Maritime (4%) and Army (5%).
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There has been an increase in full time civilian employment over the last twelve months in the Army Reserve for both Officers (47% in 2022 to 60% in 2023) and Other Ranks (61% in 2022 to 67% in 2023).
20. Well-being in the Reserves
Average well-being scores are measured out of ten.
Measuring well-being
The Office for National Statistics collects data on well-being for the UK population in their Annual Population Survey. Average scores and threshold groupings are released in their *Personal Well-being in the UK report.
Well-being is measured on a scale of 0 (Not at all) to 10 (Completely).
For the anxiety question, ratings are grouped differently to reflect the fact that higher anxiety is associated with lower personal well-being.
70% of Reservists reported high to very high levels of satisfaction with life nowadays, 68% reported the same level of happiness felt yesterday and 72% felt that the things they do in their life are worthwhile.
Wellbeing scores were broadly similar across Services apart from Army Reservists who report lower levels of “Very High 9-10” (18%) when rating how happy they are with life nowadays compared to Maritime (25%) and RAF (29%).
Officers have higher levels of life satisfaction (75% for Officers, 68% for Other Ranks) and feeling things in life are worthwhile (78% for Officers, 70% for Other Ranks) compared to Other Ranks.
For a full breakdown, please refer to the supplementary tables.
Figure 42: Wellbeing scores grouped from low to very high by Rank
63% of personnel felt low levels of anxiety yesterday, with Officers (63%) and Other Ranks (63%) each coming in at the same level of low anxiety in 2023.
Figure 43: Levels of anxiety scores grouped from very low to high by Rank
National comparison
*National well-being results are not directly comparable to those of Reserve Service personnel due to differences in demographics i.e. the majority of Reserve Service personnel are male. Furthermore, national figures include a larger proportion of over 60s who generally score their well-being higher than younger people.
21. Managing Change
Questions on Managing Change have been included for the first time in 2023. 63% agree change is managed well in their immediate working team, 57% agree change is managed well in their unit/establishment and 37% agree change is managed well in their Reserve Service.
22. SERVE Awareness
Questions on SERVE Awareness have been included for the first time in 2023. There is limited awareness of SERVE among the Reservists. Just over half of Reservists have never heard of SERVE (51%), 12% have heard of it but know nothing about it, 21% have heard of it and know a little about it and 15% have head of it and know a lot about it.
23. Methodology
1. Target population
The target population is all volunteer reservists excluding Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Special Forces and those deployed at the time the surveys were administered.
2. The survey
Data collection took place between January and March 2023.
For the Maritime Reserve and RAF Reserve a census approach was used. After exclusions, 3,314 questionnaires went out to Maritime Volunteer Reserves and 2,939 questionnaires went out to RAF Volunteer Reserves.
Maritime Reservists were able to complete an online self-completion questionnaire, via generic web link distributed to their Defence Gateway addresses from their Unit. Links were also posted on all Units Defence Gateway pages which can be accessed by unit ships company.
RAF reservists were able to complete an online self-completion questionnaire as well as a paper copy. RAF squadrons were asked in advance to indicate whether they would like to request paper copies, therefore the paper copies were limited to a certain number per station to reduce cost and waste. If squadrons requested the paper copies, a nominated point of contact on each squadron was asked to distribute the paper surveys and an email invitation to the online self-completion questionnaire.
Army reservists were sent a paper questionnaire and pre-paid envelope to their unit address using contact details recorded on Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. The paper questionnaires provided an option to complete the survey online. 14,132 Army reservists were sent the survey.
The Army sample excluded Special Forces, Mobilised, Unposted List, Army Reserves Reinforcement Group and anyone who had not received pay in the preceding 6-month period.
The Army sample was designed to provide sufficient responses to yield estimates with a margin of error of plus or minus 3% by four rank groups: Officers - Major and above; Officers - Captain and below; Soldiers – Sergeant and above; Soldiers – Corporal and below.
3. The sample and respondents
The ResCAS 2023 sample consisted of 20,385 volunteer reservists. 3,966 responses were used in the ResCAS 2023 analysis, giving an overall response rate of 19%, down fourteen percentage points since 2020 (2021 was down seven percentage points from 2020). The table below contains information on the number of questionnaires issued and received along with corresponding response rates.
| Volunteer Reserve Service | Officer/Other Rank | Sample size | Respondents (No of useable returns) | 2023 Response rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maritime | Officer | 1,175 | 278 | 24% |
| Maritime | Other Rank | 2,139 | 367 | 17% |
| Maritime | Total | 3,314 | 645 | 19% |
| Army | Officer | 3,282 | 1,073 | 33% |
| Army | Other Rank | 10,850 | 1,632 | 15% |
| Army | Total | 14,132 | 2,705 | 19% |
| RAF (RAUXAF) | Officer | 686 | 163 | 24% |
| RAF (RAUXAF) | Other Rank | 2,253 | 453 | 20% |
| RAF (RAUXAF) | Total | 2,939 | 616 | 21% |
| Tri-Service | Officer | 5,143 | 1,514 | 29% |
| Tri-Service | Other Rank | 15,242 | 2,452 | 16% |
| Tri-Service | Total | 20,285 | 3,966 | 19% |
Note that percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole % for ease of interpretation.
4. Weighting methodology and non-response
Due to the sample design and the differences in prevalence of non-response between the Service and rank strata, the distribution of characteristics amongst the ResCAS respondents did not reflect the distribution in the whole Volunteer Reserve population. Response rates tend to vary by rank, therefore responses are weighted by rank in order to correct for the bias caused by over or under-representation.
The weights were calculated simply by:
- Calculating the population size within weighted class (p)
- Dividing by the number of responses within weighted class (r)
Weighting in this way assumes missing data are missing at random (MAR) only within weighting classes. This means we assume that within a single weighting class the views of non-respondents do not differ (on average) to the views of respondents.
| Weighting Class | Weighting Applied |
|---|---|
| RMR Officer | 6.69 |
| RMR Ratings/ORs | 10.4 |
| RNR Officer | 4.93 |
| RNR Ratings/ORs | 7.09 |
| Weighting Class | Weighting Applied |
|---|---|
| Army Col and above - OF5 and above | 4.24 |
| Army Major / Lt Col - OF3/OF4 | 4.76 |
| Army LCpl / Cpl - OR3/OR4 | 15.87 |
| Army Capt - OF2 | 4.74 |
| Army Officer Cadet/ Untrained 2Lt (not completed Ph2 training)/ Trained 2Lt (completed Ph2 training)/ Lt - OF(D)/ OF1 | 7.86 |
| Army WO2 / WO1 - OR8/OR9 | 4.83 |
| Army Sgt / SSgt - OR6/OR7 | 7.23 |
| Army Trained Private soldier (completed Ph2 training) - OR1/OR2 | 34.61 |
| Army Untrained Private (not completed Ph2 training) - OR1/OR2 | 19.19 |
| Weighting Class | Weighting Applied |
|---|---|
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Wg Cdr or above - OF4+ | 3.66 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Sqn Ldr - OF3 | 4.59 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Flt Lt - OF2 | 4.75 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Officer Cadet/FG Off/Plt Off - OF(D)/OF1 | 3.7 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve WO or MACR - OR9 | 2.62 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve FS/ChfTech - OR7 | 4.02 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Sgt - OR6 | 5.31 |
| RAF Volunteer Reserve Recruit/AC/LAC/SAC/Jnr Tech/Cpl - OR1/OR2/OR3/OR4 | 5.78 |
Note: Weights have been rounded in the tables above to 2 decimal places. Non-rounded weights were applied during analysis. The rank OR-8 does not exist in the RAF and there is no equivalent OR-5 rank in the UK AF.
5. Analysis and statistical tests
Attitudinal questions in the questionnaires have generally been regrouped to assist in analysing results and to aid interpretation. For example, questions asked at a 5-point level (e.g. Strongly agree – Agree – Neither Agree nor Disagree – Disagree – Strongly Disagree) have been regrouped to a 3-point level (e.g. (Agree – Neutral – Disagree).
Missing values, where respondents have not provided a response/valid response, have not been included in the analysis. In addition, some questions are filtered to exclude invalid responses. As a result the unweighted counts (or ‘n’) will vary from question to question and these are shown within the reference tables published alongside this report on the ResCAS webpage (see 6. Format of the reference tables below for a link to the tables).
Unless otherwise specified, “Don’t know” and “Not applicable” responses are ignored and percentages are based only on the numbers of respondents who chose the remaining item response options.
Where applicable, Z-tests at a 1% alpha level were used to test whether observed estimates were significantly different to estimates from previous surveys. A statistically significant difference means that there is enough evidence that the change observed is unlikely to be due to chance variation (less than a 1% probability that the difference is the result of chance alone).
If those volunteer reservists that did not respond to the survey would have had different responses to those that did then the survey results will be biased.
6. Format of the reference tables (published separately to the report can be found on the *ResCAS webpage)
Each reference table refers to a question asked in the survey and includes estimates of the proportion of the population by category as well as margins of error associated with those estimates.
Tables are arranged generally in the order in which they were asked in the questionnaires, which is not the same as the order of the sections in the Main Report.
An index is available within the Excel tables. Each table is broken down by Service and also by Rank Group with the Total column referring to the Officers and Other Ranks results combined.
| Section | Table Numbers |
|---|---|
| 01 Life in the Reserves | B1.1 - B1.11 |
| 02a Reasons for Joining the Reserves | B2a.1 - B2a.19 |
| 02b Reasons for Staying in the Reserves | B2b.1 - B2b.18 |
| 02c Reasons for Leaving the Reserves | B2c.1 - B2c.21 |
| 03 Pay, Allowances and Admin Support | B3.1 - B3.4 |
| 04 Kit and Equipment | B4.1 - B4.2 |
| 05 Mobilisation | B5.1 - B5.4 |
| 06 Training | B6.1 - B6.4 |
| 07 Career Progression | B7.1 - B7.3 |
| 08 Perception of Reserves | B8.1 - B8.2 |
| 09 Family Support | B9.1 - B9.3 |
| 10 Your Civilian Employment | B10.1 - B10.13 |
| 11a Fairness at Work; All | B11a.1 - B11a.12 |
| 11b Fairness at Work; Ethnicity | B11b.1 - B11b.2 |
| 11c Fairness at Work; gender | B11c.1 - B11c.2 |
| 12 About You | B12.1 - B12.15 |
| 13 Well-being | B13.1 - B13.4a |
| 14 Managing Change | B14.1 - B14.3 |
| 15 SERVE Awareness | B15.1 |
24. Glossary
Additional Duties Commitment Reservists who undertake part-time work with the Armed Forces with a minimum commitment of 13 weeks - at least one day a week throughout this period.
Adventurous Training Training undertaken in an outdoor environment intended to develop skills and abilities required in operational deployment.
AFCAS Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey.
Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps is a British youth organisation sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force.
Annual Bounty A tax-free lump sum paid on completion of annual training commitment.
Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence and the British Army.
Army Personnel Centre The APC is the administrative centre for Army personnel records, formed in December 1996, and which formally ceased to be a Defence Agency as at 1 April 2004.
Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the UK. Its aim is to “provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self-reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance.
FAMCAS Families Continuous Attitude Survey
Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) Those on FTRS fill Service posts on a full-time basis while being a member of one of the reserve services, either as an ex-regular or as a volunteer. In the case of the Army and the Naval Service, these will be posts that would ordinarily have been filled by regular service personnel. In the case of the RAF, FTRS personnel also fill posts designated solely for them.
JPA Joint Personnel Administration is the system used by the Armed Forces to deal with matters of pay, leave and other personal administrative tasks.
Maritime Reserves a term that covers the combined Royal Navy Reserve (RNR) and Royal Marine Reserve (RMR).
Missing at Random (MAR) Statistical theory that states that those who did not respond to a question do not differ from those who did respond.
Missing Values s Refers to the situation where a respondent has not submitted an answer or a valid answer to a question.
MOD Ministry of Defence.
n Letter that represents ‘Unweighted Count’. This is the actual number of Volunteer Reservists that provided a valid response to a question in the survey.
N/A Not applicable.
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Neutral In Key Results and Tables, refers to the situation where there is neither agreement or disagreement, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, positions taken in response to a question.
Non-response Refers either to a person who although sampled and sent a questionnaire did not reply or to a respondent who did not reply to a question.
OF Officer of NATO rank designation ranking from ‘1’ lowest to ‘10’ highest.
Officer(s) All Officers of NATO ranks OF1 to OF10.
OR Other Ranks of NATO rank designation ranking from ‘OR1’ lowest to ‘OR9’ highest
Other Rank(s) Other Ranks are members of the Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force who are not Officers. The equivalent group in the Royal Navy is known as “Ratings”.
RAF Royal Air Force.
Regular Reserve Former members of the UK regular forces who have a liability for service with the Reserve forces. Includes the Royal Fleet Reserve, Army Reserve and Royal Air Force Reserve as well as other individuals liable to recall.
Reserves Continuous Attitude Survey (ResCAS) ) Refers to the questions asked on a Tri-Service basis in each of the single-Services Reserves Continuous Attitude Surveys.
Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) Approximately 10% of the RMR are working with the Regular Corps on long term attachments, mostly FTRS. The remainder are Volunteer Reserves.
Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) Formed in 1859 it was merged with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in 1958, and also incorporates the former Women’s Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (WRNVR) and QARNNS (Reserve). See Volunteer Reserves.
Sea Cadet Corps The Sea Cadet Corps is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence and the Royal Navy.
Service(s) Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF.
Standard Error r A measure derived using weighting factors from the sample proportion and unweighted count in a sampling distribution and used as a benchmark in order to ascertain a range of values within which the true population proportion could lie.
Statistically significant Refers to the result of a statistical test in which there is evidence of a change in proportions between years, ranks, or Services.
Statistical tests Refers to those tests which are carried out to see if any evidence exists for a change in response proportions from one year to another.
Trained Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training. * Phase 1 Training includes all new entry training to provide basic military skills. * Phase 2 Training includes initial individual specialisation, sub-specialisation and technical training following Phase 1 training prior to joining the trained strength.
Tri-Service (Reserve) refers to the Maritime Reserve, Army Reserve, and RAF Reserve collectively.
UK United Kingdom.
Unit A sub-organisation of the Service in which personnel are employed.
Untrained see Trained above.
Unweighted Count Refers to the actual number of Volunteer Reservists that provided a valid response to a question in the survey.
Volunteer Reserves Volunteer Reserves are civilian volunteers who undertake to give a certain amount of their time to train in support of the Regular Forces. They include the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Marines Reserve, the Army Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force but do not include Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service (RFA). Some Volunteer Reservists undertake (paid) Full-Time Reserve Service.
Weighting (factors) Refers to factors that are applied to the respondent data set by Service and rank group in order to make respondent Service rank groups representative of their population equivalents.
Weighting class Refers to those members of a specific rank group to whom a weighting factor is applied.
Z-test Statistical test based on a standardised distribution which allows comparison between years for populations of different sizes.
25. Further Information
25.1 Symbols
[..] Denotes not available or absolute zero
[**] Denotes difference between percentages is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level
[Rxxx] Unique identifier for each question
25.2 Disclosure Control and Rounding
Estimates for groups with fewer than 30 respondents are not presented in this report. Where there are fewer than 30 respondents, estimates are replaced with “~”.
25.3 Revisions
We have made corrections to the 2022 data which were due to data processing errors. The corrections are highlighted in the relevant tables with a revision marker “r” and an accompanying footnote.
The affected sections are 5 (Mobilisation), 11a (Fairness at Work; All), 12 (About You) and 13 (Wellbeing).
25.4 Contact Us
The Analysis Directorate welcomes feedback on our statistical products. If you have any comments or questions about this publication or about our statistics in general, you can contact us as follows:
Defence Statistics (Surveys) Email: Analysis-Publications@mod.gov.uk
If you require information which is not available within this or other available publications, you may wish to submit a Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the Ministry of Defence.
If you wish to correspond by mail, our postal address is:
Analysis Directorate (Surveys) Ministry of Defence, Main Building Floor 3 Zone M Whitehall London SW1A 2HB