SEVERAL families have approached us having received a letter from Amey saying that as the serving person’s posting doesn’t match their current SFA location, they need to move and, if they are more than three months from the start date of the new posting, they won’t get removals or disturbance expense.
We found that in most cases the soldier was on a course which was less than 11 months and the family had assumed that they could stay in SFA as it met the retention criteria. Retention is an extension of current entitlement, so it must be agreed to before your next posting. Being on a course/posting for less than 11 months is a valid reason, however, you must still apply for retention before the course starts. Retrospective permission for retention isn’t possible.
Retention may affect allowances, so discuss this with unit HR before applying. Where there’s enough empty SFA, Amey has allowed families to remain on a surplus licence however, in some instances it’s affected allowances and removals entitlement further down the line.