Latest News
How the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak is impacting our service
These are worrying times, and we have no way of knowing how long this situation will last. The government guidance for organisations to work remotely is a significant change, but at SCOAF, we are doing our best to operate as normal in the current circumstances. Our focus remains on providing independent and impartial oversight of […]
Continue readingInternational Women’s Day – is gender equality only an issue for women?
This news article is written by Shaniah Royer, a Senior Investigator at SCOAF. I am honoured to have been asked by the Ombudsman to write an article to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) 2020. In light of the theme for the 2020 IWD ‘#EachforEqual’, it seems fitting to share some reflections on the importance […]
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Informal resolution and alternative dispute resolution: What’s the difference?
As the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces, I have oversight of the Service Complaints system. But what some people don’t know is that not all complaints are dealt with this way. The Service Complaints system is the formal mechanism for resolving specific types of grievances[1] raised by Service personnel. However, many complaints are […]
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Time to Talk Day 2020
For Time to Talk Day on 6 February, we’re choosing to talk about mental health. Too often, mental health problems are treated as a taboo subject – something not to be talked about, especially at work. However, mental health affects us all and we should feel able to talk about it. The more conversations we […]
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A week in the life of the Ombudsman
People often ask me what my job is like. Sometimes they want a broad picture of my roles and responsibilities. Other times, they want to know what I do day-to-day. While it is very easy to say what my broad role is, it is often more difficult to explain what I do on a daily […]
Continue reading2020: The Year Ahead
It has become a tradition for me to use the first SCOAF blog of the year to look at the year ahead. I look forward to writing this at the start of each year, but especially this year. Why? Well, not only does 2020 mark the fifth year of operation for SCOAF but because my […]
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