Glossary · UK
What is Armed Forces Reservist Pay?
Pay and financial protections for members of the Reserve Forces called up or attending training, including a tax-free bounty and civilian employer safeguards.
Full Definition
Members of the UK's Volunteer Reserve Forces (such as the Army Reserve, Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force) are paid for the days they train and serve, calculated as a proportion of the equivalent regular forces daily rate for their rank, plus an annual tax-free bounty once minimum annual training commitments have been met, which increases with years of qualifying service. Reservists who are mobilised (called up) for full-time service, for example to backfill regular forces on operations, move onto full-time armed forces pay and conditions for the mobilisation period, and their civilian employer is protected by the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, which makes it a criminal offence to dismiss an employee because they have been, are, or are about to be mobilised, and generally guarantees the right to return to the same or a similar civilian job afterwards. Employers of mobilised reservists can also claim financial assistance from the Ministry of Defence to help cover costs such as temporary replacement staff, easing the pressure of an employee's absence. Reservist training pay and the annual bounty are treated broadly like other armed forces pay for tax purposes and are administered through the Ministry of Defence rather than a civilian payroll, so reservists with a separate civilian job need to account for both sources of income when checking their overall tax position; the specific rates change periodically, so current figures should be checked on gov.uk.