Despite a 6% pay increase, thousands of British soldiers are leaving the armed forces, reports The Telegraph.
The Telegraph reported Saturday that over 15,000 British soldiers departed the Armed Forces between November 2023 and October 2024. This exodus continues despite a record pay raise intended to address recruitment shortfalls.
The newspaper highlighted that over half of the 15,119 personnel who left during this period resigned voluntarily. However, roughly 12,000 new recruits joined, resulting in a net reduction of military personnel.
In July, the Ministry of Defence announced a 6% pay rise—the largest in over two decades—to combat recruitment difficulties. The Telegraph points out this measure proved ineffective, with new recruits remaining among the lowest-paid UK public servants.
Since 2011, inflation-adjusted pay for army privates has reportedly risen only 1.9%, compared to 13.39% for new junior doctors and 10.14% for train drivers.
A military survey, cited by the newspaper, revealed that satisfaction with basic pay hit a record low in May (prior to the pay increase), with only 32% of respondents expressing contentment with their salaries.
Earlier this month, Defence Minister Alistair Carns, a former Royal Marine, warned that the regular British army could be eradicated within six months if engaged in a conflict on the scale of the war in Ukraine.
As of October 2024, MoD figures show 181,550 personnel in the armed forces (including full-time trained and untrained UK service personnel), a 2% decrease since October 1, 2023.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated in November that the current government inherited recruitment challenges, noting that annual targets have been missed for the past 14 years.
“We have already given personnel the largest pay raise in decades and scrapped 100 outdated policies that block and slow down recruitment,” the ministry emphasized.