Prospect secures more than £465,000 in compensation for members in the MoD

Prospect has settled a long running claim for pay allowances for 32 members working for the Ministry of Defence.

The case arose from the non-payment of a recruitment and retention allowance for staff in Defence Equipment & Support. Some members had been excluded from the allowance entirely and others were paid at the wrong level.

Prospect negotiators first took up the issue for members in 2013, with collective negotiations, supporting members through the grievance and appeal process, and lobbying defence ministers.

At the end of 2015, the MoD accepted some members should be paid but would not agree to backdate the allowances, so the battle continued.

In 2019 Prospect’s legal team worked with our external solicitors, Pattinson & Brewer, to prepare the cases for litigation in the High Court and formal letters of claim were sent to MoD.

Eventually in 2020 the MoD agreed to pay compensation to all members in the claim. The allowances were backdated in full, resulting in over £465,000 being paid to 32 Prospect members.

Prospect member Adrian Pitcher

Adrian Pitcher, one of the Prospect members, was delighted with the eventual outcome and said:

”It took many years, grievances, appeals and starting legal action to successfully challenge the employer’s decision. Prospect were with us 100% of the way. Without Prospect to represent us, our attempts to reason with our employer would have failed”.

Julie Flanagan, Prospect assistant secretary, added:

“After seven long years, our determination to see this issue through to a positive conclusion has resulted in members receiving their back pay. I am delighted that Prospect has been able to secure a settlement for a large group of members, once again showing the value of union membership and the support we provide.”