Applying for Flexible Service

Am I eligible?

Flexible Service (FS) is only available for Regular Service Personnel.

Details

Whilst any Regular Service Person has the right to apply for FS, approvals will not normally be granted in the following circumstances: 

• Where you have not completed phase 1 and 2 training; plus any additional period of service defined by your owning Service. 

• When serving under sentence because of disciplinary action.  

• Where you have been warned or are under notice for operations, on sea service or placed at high readiness. 

• During a period of Terminal leave.   

• Where you have already an FS application under consideration or appeal. 

Under exceptional circumstances your Commanding Officer (CO) may make a recommendation, with suitable justification to the Approval Authority, where the eligibility criteria have not been met.   

Eligibility is not constrained by role and an application for any job can be considered on merits. However, the requirement to maintain operational capability will have a strong influence on the decision. You should not assume that an application will be successful. You should start discussions with your line manager early in the application process. 

Other things to consider

There are no limits on how many applications you can make during your career but limits will apply to the total time you can serve on FS so that most of your career is in full-time Service. This will also provide fair access to FS for other military personnel.

FS must be for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 3 years, or to the end of your current or confirmed future availability date, whichever is sooner. Other forms of leave and/or service are possible outside of these minimum and maximum periods and you can learn more about these on this site. 

How do I make a request?

You can apply for FS on JPA  through the Self Service Application for FS. Full instructions can be found in the JPA self-service user guide If you don't have access to JPA, you should apply through your unit HR.

Your application should normally be made between 12 months and 90 calendar days before your desired FS start-date.

The number of FS applications you can submit is not limited but you cannot have more than one active FS application running at a time. An application is considered active from the date you submitted the application until a formal decision has been made (plus 14 calendar days if you decide to appeal).

You can withdraw your FS application at any point in the application process until the decision by the Approving Authority.