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Soldiers recharge with Army’s mid-tour leave program

Contingency operating base adder, iraq, courtesy story, 3rd armored brigade combat team, 4th infantry division.

Story by: Sgt. David Dasilma CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq – There is a special time during a deployment every Soldier anticipates. If one were to listen to the conversations around Task Force Blackjack, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, he or she would hear plenty of chatter pertaining to the second greatest time of a deployment: Environmental Morale Leave. While it remains second to redeployment, EML is one of the most talked about items among deployed Soldiers. Hot topics include foods they will eat, the people they will see, and the adventures they are planning. EML is a special privilege and helps keep morale high in TF Blackjack. The EML Program, mandated by U.S. Central Command, was implemented in 2003. The program was initiated to provide eligible service members and Department of Defense civilians serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom an opportunity for rest and recuperation and to aid with temporary family reintegration. This leave is unique from the previous tours. On April 8, it became non-chargeable, meaning Soldiers do not use accrued leave, a provision that only applies to those deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. “If I had to use up 15 days of chargeable leave for EML, I wouldn’t have enough left over to take post-deployment block leave, or I’d have to go in the hole,” said Pfc. Jason Dudley, Blackjack aid station medic from Seattle. In addition to non-chargeable leave, Soldiers do not pay for airline expenses to their destination, a provision that falls under the Fully Funded Onward Movement Program, implemented on January 1, 2004. Spc. Lester Burgard, a medic with 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt. from Mountain Grove, Miss., is a second-time deployer who appreciates the new policy. “I had a lot of fun on leave. I got to hang out with my old friends, relax, and eat great food,” Burgard said. “What’s cool is that last deployment it was chargeable, and now it’s not.”

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The Emotional Cycle of Deployment-Part 4

By lavaughn ricci, february 1, 2024, blog | deployment | experience | military life, comments: 0.

*Join Blogger LaVaughn Ricci as she chronicles the emotional cycles of deployment. This is Part Four.  Click these links to go back to Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 .  

Part Four, Deployment: Anticipation of Return

We just weren’t ready for my husband’s mid-tour leave. We had worked our way through several stages in the emotional cycle of deployment: the ever-so-challenging pre-deployment phases of anticipation of departure and detachment and withdrawal ; the strenuous deployment phase of emotional disorganization , then the liberating deployment phase of recovery and stabilization . It was inevitable we next reach the deployment phase of anticipation of return .

Not every deployed serviceman or women will have an opportunity to return home for a mid-tour leave. It’s usually only for those whose deployments range longer than nine months. My husband was slotted for twelve months, so he decided to take the leave offered to him.

He was excited to come back to see us and have a break from the long hours overseas.

For some reason, the kids and I weren’t quite feeling the same.  

It threw me off that we were feeling anxious over mid-tour leave, when I expected we wouldn’t feel these emotions until my husband’s final homecoming. Alas, it struck us all quite hard.  

They were still confused, asking many questions, and didn’t seem excited for their daddy to come home. One child finally spewed, “He shouldn’t come back home at all if he just has to leave again.”  

Honestly, I understood. I was feeling the same anxiety. I didn’t want my husband coming back when we were finally on a roll. We had worked so hard to reach a good place in the deployment and we were doing well.

Now, my husband’s leave was going to change it all.  

I started realizing that my friends who had spouses gone for six or nine-month tours maybe had a good thing going. Their spouses were gone for longer durations at one time, but when they returned home, they were home for good. My friends wouldn’t have to prepare all over again for their husband to leave. They woudn’t have to worry about these intensely difficult transitions.

Maybe the grass just seemed greener…Whether we liked it or not, my husband’s leave was set, and he was on his way.  

There were less of my husband’s awards, less war prints, and a few family photos in their place instead. I gained a few more houseplants, some decorative trays, and now that the kids were finally old enough to leave things alone, I added a few fragile decorative pieces that had been stored for so long.  

I remember feeling quite stressed the day before picking up my husband from the airport.

I had scrubbed the house from top to bottom, and the day of I ran around picking up all the last little things the kids had “rearranged” for me.

I made sure we were all dressed in our best, and we anxiously took off for the airport.  

Once my children reconnected with their daddy, most of the anxiety seemed to dissipate. Though I was feeling comfortable too, we still had to feel things out. What was my husband up for? Should we go out to eat at his favorite restaurant?

Did he just want to go sleep and work out the jet lag?

What should we talk about first?

In time, it seemed to all work itself out and we felt like he had never left us.  

I did have some worries that my husband wouldn’t appreciate our new schedule. I questioned whether we should pause all our activities so we could just enjoy him. But we also wanted him to experience our new activities and see what our new life was like. Some servicemen and women struggle with the fact that life back home doesn’t stop when they are gone.

It can be difficult for them to be confronted with so many changes. I decided I shouldn’t stop everything just because my husband was home on leave. We had our weekly homeschool community meetings, a school schedule to keep up with, ninja classes, dance classes, and a few appointments.

It was not only important for my husband to be part of that, but it was also important for me to keep things as normal as possible while my he was home, so when he went back, the children wouldn’t feel a drastic change all over again.  

It wasn’t all routine, though!

The children were sleeping better, and since I had a little extra help with their care and housework, I was also sleeping better.

The only thing that I hadn’t been prepared for was some awful separation anxiety in the children. Any time their daddy left for an errand, to go work-out, or if they couldn’t find him in the house quickly enough, they panicked, “Did Daddy go overseas again?” “Where’s Daddy?” “ When will Daddy be back?”

My heart hurt for their inability to feel fully secure. Thankfully, these questions eased up the longer my husband was home, and the children were mostly happy during his time with us.  

My husband’s mid-tour leave came to an end so quickly. It almost seemed silly to me that the kids and I had felt so anxious in the beginning. Sure, we had a few small things to work out, but for the most part life was enjoyable and normal.  

Until it was time for the dreaded “see-ya-laters.”  

And the emotional meltdowns started…

All over again.  

It took several days for the children and me to get back to our new normal, when we had been feeling confident in our routine. But the bad dreams returned. The children were up more at night, so I wasn’t sleeping well either. I had to go back to balancing everything solo, and deal with all the behavioral issues again.

I’m honestly not sure we ever got back into as great of a routine as we had before my husband’s leave. We found ways to manage and felt okay most of the time. But this last period was just tough! We were done and were ready for my husband to be home for good.  

After several more months, we prepared for his permanent return.

But we were also due to PCS. And before that, my husband would have to fit in a month-long TDY to train for his new job. We didn’t have time to process much. We were just so very excited for him to have completed the deployment so now we could focus on the next things coming at us.  

In our personal, unique situation, the final homecoming wasn’t as tense. My husband and I didn’t have time to get upset about all the silly adjustments that take place. He soon left for TDY and I prepped the children, myself, and our home for our PCS.  

Many of you reading this may not have been able to experience a mid-tour leave with your spouse.

Quite possibly, your spouse endured a four, six, or nine-month deployment with no vacation so all your anxiety went towards his/her permanent return. Some of you may have experienced something similar to us, where you prepared for a mid-tour leave and again prepared for a permanent return.

Maybe you felt the same level of anxiety in both instances, when our family personally felt the highest anxiety for only the mid-tour leave. Experiences and emotions can vary, and these transitions and adjustments look a little different for everyone. In time, it truly does work itself out! Stay patient!

You got this, my friend!

*Keep your eye out next month for my continuation on this series, as I cover the emotions during deployment.  

Dear Reader,

Are you feeling the same? I want you to know these are perfectly normal stages and feelings of deployment – and they are temporary! You are not alone, and you will overcome these challenges. Please seek help if needed. Talk to a friend, a chaplain or pastor, and try these websites to discover a plethora of information on deployment resources, help for military children, freebies for children of deployed parents, special events near you, and more!

Military OneSource.  

Military and Family Life Counseling (MFLC)

Blue Star Families

United Service Organizations (USO)

LaVaughn Ricci is originally from Michigan and met her husband while they were both students at Cedarville University in Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts, and she also studied bible, theatre, and American Sign Language. She is certified in Teaching English as a Second Language. LaVaughn’s husband commissioned in the U.S. Army in 2004, and the two of them overcame a long-distance relationship through five different duty stations and two deployments before they finally married in 2011. Since then, they have been stationed at seven different installations together, have had four incredible children (two born overseas), and have travelled a decent fraction of the world. LaVaughn loves Jesus Christ, being an Army wife, adventuring with her family, musicals, chocolate, chai lattés, and a quality cup of decaf. She is a homeschooling mom who volunteers in SFRGs, PWOCs, and enjoys helping service members and their families whenever and however possible. She would enjoy connecting with you on Facebook.

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The Emotional Cycles of Deployment: Part 6

Mar 24, 2024 | Blog , Deployment , Experience

Join Blogger LaVaughn Ricci as she chronicles the emotional cycles of deployment. This is Part Six. Click these links to go back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,  Part 4, and Part 5. 

How to be productive (when it’s hard)

Mar 23, 2024 | Blog , Expert , Relationships

Let me let you in on a little secret. These articles I write aren’t quite planned.

6 Home Maintenance Tips That You’re Probably Overlooking!

Mar 22, 2024 | Blog , Expert , Military Life , PCS

Being involved in real estate means going into ALOT of homes….some amazing and some not so amazing.

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Tips to create a deployment to remember

By janine boldrin.

Reconnect with family and friends with a vacation during your mid-tour leave

Have children?

Do this: go to walt disney world., avoid this: going without a plan., consider this: try a disney cruise line vacation., want to rekindle the romance, do this: think all-inclusive ., avoid this: going too far away., consider this: plan time alone., don’t have money to travel on deployment, do this: vacation at home., avoid this: making assumptions., consider this: look at free options.

AmeriForce Staff

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UNCLASSIFIED (U)

(CT:PER-1106;   10-27-2022) (Office of Origin:  GTM/ER/WLD)

3 FAM 3431  AUTHORITY AND ELIGIBILITY

3 FAM 3431.1  Authority

(CT:PER-924;   09-21-2018) (Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA) (Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)

a. The authorities are found under:

(1)  5 U.S.C. 6305;

(2)  5 CFR 630, Subpart F; and

(3)  Sections 901 and 903 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended.

b. The purpose of home leave is to ensure that employees who live abroad for an extended period undergo reorientation and re-exposure in the United States on a regular basis.

3 FAM 3431.2  Eligibility

(CT:PER-1106;   10-27-2022) (Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA) (Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)

a. Within the limitation of available funds, the foreign affairs agencies may grant home leave, or combined home leave and annual leave, with travel at U.S. Government expense to any employee who:

(1)  Is a citizen of the United States;

(2)  Has completed at least:

(a)  12 months of continuous service abroad at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the Director General of the Foreign Service; or

(b)  18 months of continuous service abroad; and

(3)  After home leave, is expected to return:

(a)  Immediately to service abroad with the employing agency; or

(b)  To service abroad with the employing agency upon completion of an assignment in the United States; or

(c)  To service abroad after transferring to an international organization.

b. Home leave is ordinarily granted at the conclusion of an overseas assignment if the requirement for continuous overseas service cited in 3 FAM 3431.2 , subparagraph(a)(2), has been met.  Exceptions to this requirement can be found in 3 FAM 3433.1 .

c.  Employees must take home leave as soon as possible after 36 months of continuous service abroad.  Employees serving at posts experiencing extraordinary circumstances must take home leave at the conclusion of their assignments in accordance with the guidelines in 3 FAM 3434.2 , paragraph b, and 3 FAM 3435.1 , paragraph d.

d. An employee who meets the eligibility requirements in 3 FAH-1 H-3415 for accumulating a maximum of 45 days of annual leave earns and may be granted home leave.

e. Employees who have elected Presidential appointee pay and leave status are not eligible for home leave.  However, they may qualify for a leave of absence with pay for use in the United States, its territories, or its possessions.  (See 3 FAM 3323.1 .)

f.  Employees are not eligible for home leave who transfer from an overseas assignment directly into GTM-approved Leave Without Pay (LWOP), except as provided in g. below.  Home leave is granted only when followed immediately by an assignment, domestically or overseas.  LWOP is not considered an assignment for this purpose.

g.  State Department military reservists are permitted military LWOP immediately after home leave only in connection with their military orders. 

3 FAM 3432  DEFINITIONS applicable to this subchapter and to 3 fah-1 h-3430

Creditable service abroad :  For the purpose of establishing eligibility for travel at U.S. Government expense, creditable service abroad is continuous service as a Federal employee with any agency of the Federal Government, including service in the U.S. Armed Forces at a post of duty outside the United States and outside the employee’s place of residence if the employee’s residence is a U.S. Commonwealth or possession.  Service in Puerto Rico by an employee whose official place of residence or home leave address is Puerto Rico will not count as creditable service abroad and the employee will not be authorized home leave.

Foreign affairs agencies :  Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the Department of Commerce, and the Foreign Service Corps of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Home leave :  Leave authorized by 5 U.S.C. 6305(a) and earned by service abroad for use in the United States, in the U.S. Commonwealths, or in the territories and possessions of the United States.

Month :  A period which runs from a given day in one month through the day preceding the numerically corresponding day in the next month.

Possession :  U.S. possessions or territories, including principally the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

United States :  The 50 States and the District of Columbia.

U.S. Commonwealth :  The Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

3 FAM 3433  OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

3 FAM 3433.1  Fewer Than 18 Months of Continuous Service Abroad

(CT:PER-992;   05-20-2020) (Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA) (Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)

Home leave may be granted to employees with fewer than 18 months of continuous service abroad only:

(1)  As authorized by the Director of the Office of Career Development and Assignments (GTM/CDA) or the Director of the Assignments Division (GTM/CDA/AD) under authority delegated by the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent, when the assignment is terminated because the post or country of assignment is designated as an imminent danger area and the employees are evacuated from post; or

(2)  As authorized by the Director of GTM/CDA or the Director of GTM/CDA/AD under authority delegated by the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent, when the assignment is terminated at the convenience of the U.S. Government and/or where the needs of the Foreign Service so warrant; or

(3)  As authorized by the Director of GTM/CDA or the Director of GTM/CDA/AD under authority delegated by the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent, when an employee has served fewer than 12 months of continuous service abroad at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances as provided in 3 FAM 3431.2 , subparagraph a(2)(a), and the assignment is terminated at the convenience of the U.S. Government and/or where the needs of the Foreign Service so warrant; and

(4)  For the other foreign affairs agencies, as authorized by the officials listed below under the circumstances described in 3 FAM 3433.1 , subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3):

3 FAM 3433.2  Dual Entitlements

Employees may not receive dual entitlements.  Therefore:

(1)  Each member of a tandem couple may accrue and use home leave in his or her own right when both are assigned abroad.  However, if one member goes on LWOP to accompany his or her spouse or domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610 ) abroad, that member will be considered an eligible family member (as defined in 14 FAM 511.3 ) for home leave travel entitlement purposes.  Home leave travel as a member of a tandem couple on LWOP is considered a break in continuous service abroad.  Home leave accrued prior to going on LWOP will remain to the employee’s credit and may be used when the employee returns to duty status and establishes eligibility; and

(2)  The spouse or domestic partner of an employee of a foreign affairs agency who is serving at post as a member of the uniformed services or as an employee of another U.S. Government agency is eligible for home leave as the employee’s eligible family member provided:

(a)  The other agency or uniformed service does not accord comparable benefits; and

(b)  The spouse or domestic partner is included on the employee’s Form OF-126, Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report.

3 FAM 3433.3  Eligibility of Family Members

a. Family members qualify for home leave travel based on the eligibility and entitlement of the employee.  However, additional provisions may apply to eligible family members (EFMs) of employees serving at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances (see 3 FAM 3433.3 , paragraph e).  Except for children who have turned 21 and who do not meet the definition of eligible family members in 14 FAM 511.3 , eligible family members include individuals who:

(1)  Are included on the employee’s Form OF-126, Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report;

(2)  Have traveled to post under official travel orders, or have been acquired after the employee’s arrival at post; and

(3)  Are considered to be residing at post at the time the employee travels under home leave travel orders.

b. Family members normally travel with the employee, but they may travel in advance of or after the employee provided that travel orders have been issued and the employee meets the minimum period of service to qualify for home leave.

c.  Family members are not required to take home leave travel. However, eligible family members who take home leave travel must comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Department policies on home leave travel.

d. When an employee is transferring from a foreign post to an onward unaccompanied assignment and is taking home leave prior to traveling to the onward assignment, qualifying EFMs are eligible for paid travel to their home leave address and for additional travel orders to their involuntary separate maintenance allowance location, if such additional orders are necessary.

e. The Department policy on home leave travel  for eligible family members of employees serving at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the Director General of the Foreign Service, may include additional or different provisions.  Employees in such a category should consult applicable service recognition packages to determine the eligibility of their family members for home leave travel.

3 FAM 3434  HOME LEAVE WHEN FOLLOWED BY ASSIGNMENT ABROAD

3 FAM 3434.1  Standard

Generally, 30 workdays of home leave, exclusive of transit time, is considered an appropriate amount of time to meet the purpose of home leave and will be granted unless the employee requests or has accrued fewer days, or an exception is made based on the needs of the Service.

3 FAM 3434.2  Minimum

a. Except as provided in paragraphs b and c of this section, employees will take not less than 20 workdays of home leave.  ( NOTE :  See 3 FAM 3464.3 for regulations on transition leave for Civil Service and certain Foreign Service employees who are returning from overseas assignments.)

b. A minimum of 10 days of home leave is required for employees whose period of service is between 12 and 24 months at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances as designated by the Director General.  Employees extending their service at such a post to 24 months must take a minimum of 10 days of home leave after 12 months and a minimum of 10 days at the end of 24 months or must forgo home leave at the 12-month point, taking instead not less than 20 days of home leave at the conclusion of the assignment.

c.  Exceptions to the minimum number of days of mandatory home leave may be made for the employee based on the needs of the Service or for compelling personal needs.  At the request of an employee who has served at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances, the requirement that he or she take mandatory home leave may be waived or delayed because of personal needs, particularly if taking home leave would negatively affect the employee’s ability to reconnect with immediate family members.  Such exceptions must be approved prior to departure from post by the officials listed below:

3 FAM 3434.3  Maximum

a. Forty-five (45) workdays, excluding travel time, is the maximum period of home leave which generally will be approved.  A longer period of home leave is justified by circumstances such as:

(1)  Need for added recuperation because of service under particularly difficult circumstances;

(2)  Exceptional delay of home leave because of program needs;

(3)  Serious personal or family problems;

(4)  Abbreviated home leave when last authorized; or

(5)  Other unusual circumstances warranting home leave in excess of the normal maximum.

b. An exception to the 45 workday maximum may be granted by:

3 FAM 3434.4  Interruption of Home Leave

Home leave should be taken in one continuous period.  However, this period may be interrupted for temporary duty, such as training, community relations programs, consultation, or other circumstances, subject to agency approval.  (See 3 FAM 3438 , paragraph b, and 3 FAH-1 H-3434 .  For USAID, also see ADS 480.3.5.6.)  The agency's approval for an interruption of home leave will indicate if any travel required in the performance of the temporary duty is authorized.

3 FAM 3434.5  Delayed Home Leave

a. Subject to the requirements in 3 FAM 3434.5 , paragraph c, the Director of the Office of Career Development and Assignments (GTM/CDA) or the Director of the Assignments Division (GTM/CDA/AD), under authority delegated by the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent, may authorize delayed home leave for employees eligible for home leave who are transferring between overseas posts:

(1)  For USAID:  The Chief, OHR/FSP or other appropriate official under authority delegated by the Director, Office of Human Resources (OHR/OD) may authorize delayed home leave for employees eligible for home leave who are transferring between overseas posts with the concurrence of mission management in the gaining overseas post of assignment;

(2)  USAGM:  Delayed home leave may be authorized in connection with an assignment abroad;

(3)  For Commerce:  Delayed home leave may be authorized in connection with an assignment abroad by the Director of the Office of Foreign Service Human Capital; and

(4)  For Agriculture:  Delayed home leave may be authorized in connection with an assignment abroad.

b. With approval of the appropriate official listed in 3 FAM 3434.2 , mandatory home leave may be delayed because of personal needs, particularly if taking it immediately after completion of the time at post would negatively affect an employee’s ability to reconnect with immediate family members.

c.  Delayed home leave must be taken as soon as possible after the employee has completed:

(1)  36 months of continuous service abroad; or

(2)  12 months of service at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances as designated by the Director General, except for employees who extend their period of service beyond 12 months at such posts; these employees must take the delayed home leave as soon as possible after the conclusion of the assignment.

3 FAM 3435  HOME LEAVE IN CONNECTION WITH AN ASSIGNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

3 FAM 3435.1  Home Leave Before Next Assignment

a. If an employee’s next assignment is in the United States (or a U.S. Commonwealth or possession) and the employee has completed 3 years of continuous service abroad, the employee must take home leave before reporting for duty.  ( NOTE :  See 3 FAM 3464.3 for regulations on transition leave for Civil Service and certain Foreign Service employees who are returning from overseas assignments.)

b. An employee will be granted home leave not to exceed 25 workdays.  A longer period may be authorized in accordance with the provisions in 3 FAM 3434.3 .

c.  Annual or sick leave to the employee’s credit or LWOP, as appropriate, may be granted in addition to home leave.

d. A minimum of 10 days of home leave is required for employees whose period of service is between 12 and 24 months at a post experiencing extraordinary circumstances as designated by the Director General.  Employees extending their service at such a post to 24 months must take a minimum of 10 days of home leave after 12 months and a minimum of 10 days at the end of 24 months or must forgo home leave at the 12-month point, taking instead not less than 20 days of home leave at the conclusion of the assignment.

3 FAM 3435.2  Deferred Home Leave

a. When home leave is authorized and an employee is required to report for duty immediately, the officials designated below may authorize a deferral of the employee’s home leave.  In such instances, the home leave must be taken in one continuous period, except as provided in this subchapter, and must be completed within 6 months following the effective date of the employee’s assignment to the United States.

b. With approval of the appropriate official listed in 3 FAM 3435.2 , mandatory home leave may be deferred because of personal needs, despite 3 FAM 3435.1 , paragraph d, particularly if taking it immediately after completion of the time at post would negatively affect an employee’s ability to reconnect with immediate family members.

3 FAM 3436  ANNUAL LEAVE IN LIEU OF HOME LEAVE AT U.S. GOVERNMENT EXPENSE

Annual leave may not be substituted at the end of the leave year for periods previously charged to home leave, unless a determination is made that a refund of all home leave is required and the employee must have the home leave charge changed to annual leave ( 3 FAM 3439 , paragraph b).

3 FAM 3437  RESTRICTIONS ON HOME LEAVE

3 FAM 3437.1  Home Leave not Authorized Abroad

a. Home leave may be used only in the United States (or in a U.S. Commonwealth or possession if that is the employee’s home leave residence).  However, incidental travel outside the United States, not involving an overnight stay, is acceptable under these regulations.

b. Any leave used en route will be charged to annual leave, sick leave, earned compensatory time, or LWOP, as appropriate.

3 FAM 3437.2  Home Leave Abroad For Separated Families

(CT:PER-1100; 08-24-2022)  (Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)  (Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)

a. Section 903 (b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4083(b)), as amended in December 2021, provides that:

b. “In cases in which a member of the Service has official orders to an unaccompanied post and in which the family members of the member reside apart from the member at authorized locations outside the United States, the member may take the leave ordered under this section where that member’s family members reside, notwithstanding section 10305 of title 5, United States Code.”

c. Home leave may be used outside the United States only when it is taken during or at the end of an assignment at an unaccompanied post designated as such by the Under Secretary for Management, and it is taken where the employee’s family member(s) reside.

d. An unaccompanied post is a post at which no family members or members of household are authorized to reside.

e. Home leave under this provision may be authorized only to the approved location where the employee’s family member(s) resided during the employee’s unaccompanied assignment. Approved locations under this provision include ISMA approved locations, safe haven locations for families of employees assigned to or serving a full tour of duty at an unaccompanied post, or other locations where family members reside, as approved by GTM/EX/IDSD on a case-by-case basis. Employees will confirm the location where their EFMs reside and the dates in their Travel Message-2 submissions

e. All eligibility criteria for home leave in 3 FAM 3431.2 and 3 FAM 3433.1 apply under this subchapter.

f. The definition of “family member” is defined in 14 FAM 511.3 Definition of Eligible Family Member

3 FAM 3437.3  Unused Home Leave

a. Home leave may not be used except during the period for which it has been authorized and for which home leave travel authorizations have been issued.

b. Unused home leave may be added to future accruals and used when the employee again becomes eligible and is authorized home leave travel.

3 FAM 3437.4  Return to Duty Abroad

Home leave will be granted only when, in accordance with 3 FAM 3431.2 , the employee will complete another tour of duty abroad, either immediately or upon completion of an assignment in the United States or in a U.S. Commonwealth or possession.  Civil Service employees serving under limited noncareer appointments (LNAs) or other temporary Foreign Service appointments abroad are not eligible for home leave when they return to a domestic position upon completion of the assignment.  (See 3 FAM 3464.3 for policies on transition leave for Civil Service employees and certain Foreign Service employees returning from overseas service.)

3 FAM 3437.5  Not Authorized at Separation

Unused home leave may not be the basis of any lump-sum payment upon separation.

3 FAM 3437.6  Scheduling Travel

a. The authorizing official should seek to approve trips that are cost effective to the U.S. Government at the time of actual travel.  Timing of trips should be arranged to take advantage of:

(1)  Other U.S. Government charter or contract flights;

(2)  Special excursion rates or seasonal reductions in fares;

(3)  Surface transportation where rates are lower than the cost of less than economy air accommodations; or

(4)  Other official travel by the employee or employee's family members.

b. Travel to a location in the United States other than the home leave address is permitted on a cost-construct basis using travel to the home leave address of record as the basis for the allowable travel expenses.

c.  Employees are granted transit time in conjunction with home leave travel.  See 3 FAM 3463.2 .

3 FAM 3438  CHARGING HOME LEAVE

a. Home leave will be charged for all days on which an employee would otherwise work in the basic 40-hour workweek, including any local holidays which occur at the post of assignment while the employee is in the United States or a U.S. Commonwealth or possession.  The minimum charge is 1 day and additional charges are in multiples of 1 day.

b. Home leave will not be charged for any day in which an employee spends authorized time in community relations and public affairs activities such as speeches and participation in university seminars and media events.  Time spent in such activities, when approved in advance by the foreign affairs agency, is considered performance of duty.

3 FAM 3439  FAILURE TO RETURN TO SERVICE ABROAD

a. An employee must be indebted for the home leave used if he or she:

(1)  Following the return from home leave taken mid-tour or in conjunction with a follow-on overseas assignment, fails to complete 1 year of the current or new assignment; or

(2)  Upon returning from service abroad to a domestic assignment, fails to complete at least 6 months of service with the employing agency in the United States or a U.S. Commonwealth or possession.

b. When a determination is made that a refund of all home leave is required, the employee must repay the transportation costs connected with the home leave and must have the home leave charge changed to annual leave.  If a partial refund of home leave is required, that portion is charged to annual leave, and there is no requirement to repay the transportation costs, provided that the minimum time requirements for home leave are met (refer to 5 CFR 630.606, paragraph (e)).

3 FAM 3439.1  Exceptions

No refund of home leave indebtedness is required:

(1)  When the employing agency determines that the employee’s failure to return to duty and to serve 1 year of the tour abroad or serve 6 months of a domestic assignment was because of compelling personal reasons warranting a humanitarian or compassionate exception to the refund requirement.  Such exceptions may involve physical or mental health or circumstances over which the employee had no control; or

(2)  When the employing agency determines that it is in the public interest not to return the employee to an assignment abroad.

3 FAM 3439.2  Involuntary Separation While on Home Leave

If an employee is on home leave and a determination is made that he or she must not be retained in the Foreign Service, the appropriate human resources office must immediately notify the employee of such determination.  The notification will be sent by certified or registered mail and a return receipt will be requested.  The employee will be carried on home leave through the close of business on the day on which the employee receives the notice.  In such instances, the employee will not be required to refund his or her salary and no charge will be made to the employee’s annual leave for the period of home leave already taken.

3 FAM 3439.3  Home Leave Address of Record

a. The home leave address of record is indicated on Form OF-126, Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report, which serves as the basis for determining the destination of employees and family members in connection with home leave travel at U.S. Government expense.  Therefore, it is important that a current and accurate report be on file in the employing agency at all times.  (See 3 FAH-1 H-3435 , Home Leave Address of Record.)

b. Requests to change the home leave address must be submitted to and approved by the following individuals or offices:

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Will the Military to Pay for My Trip Home?

Living overseas is an adventure most military spouses dream of. But as anyone who has lived overseas knows, it comes with some challenges. One of those is the expense of flying home.

One military spouse wrote in and said, “I think it's totally unfair of the military to station us overseas in Japan and not pay for any flights home for the entire tour. Yes, we could fly Space-A , but it's not realistic because it's not predictable, and we are almost two hours away from the terminal.”

Being away from family is hard, and it often seems harder when an ocean - or two - separate you from them. You can’t just drive home if you want.

But, it’s not the military’s responsibility to bring you back to your home town.

Generally speaking, the military gives service members two options when it comes to some assignments, such as those in South Korea and Japan.

They can either go for a one-year hardship tour solo and receive a mid-tour R&R visit home on Uncle Sam's dime, or they can request to take their family with them for a two-year accompanied tour and not be flown back to the States at all.

Not every accompanied request is granted. Even getting stationed with your service member is a major perk. If you don't want to be there, you could stay stateside and let him or her serve and visit you via Space-A solo.

It’s important to remember that an accompanied tour is something many military families want but are not granted.

To make things a little easier on your pocketbook for stateside visits, the Defense Department does pay for flights home -- but they are through Space-A. Yes, that's unpredictable, but it is a paid-for flight.

Honestly, saying that two hours is too far to go to deal with flights discredits the folks stateside in rural locations who don't have Space-A access but still must travel just as far or farther to deal with traveling from their duty station. Good luck finding an airport within two hours if you're stationed at Fort Irwin, California , for example.

We hate to say “someone else has it worse, so be grateful for what you have,” but that’s what we’re thinking. Living overseas has its pros and cons and we suggest your focus on the pros.

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Stories of Our Boys

faith, family, and travel

The Only One Without Mid-Tour Leave

Alan, at the Balad Airfield, with other soldiers, waiting to board a C-5 to Qatar.

****This post is part of a series titled The Real Army Wives of Fort Hood.  Each Monday I post a new chapter. These are all true  stories of my own experiences on the home-front as well as stories from my friends.****

Please excuse the horrendous photo quality of these pictures. They were taken in 02-04, and are not available to me digitally, so all I have is fuzzy photos of photos. My apologies!

Sometimes in life things simply don’t go your way, and there’s nothing to do but make the best of a tough situation. Sending my husband to war the very first year of our marriage felt like a series of tough breaks, let me tell ya!

Somewhere around the 6-month-mark of the deployment, word came down that SOME of the soldiers would be receiving a little thing called “mid-tour leave.”

Mid-Tour Leave is this amazing treat where a service member gets to leave their year-or-longer deployment to come home for TWO whole weeks.

When I first heard of this, I was full of hope and excitement. I had never imagined that Alan might get to come see me before the year was up. But wait. Some? How do they choose which ones get a break and which ones don’t?

Alan, proudly displaying a rat that he’d killed. Their building suffered quite the infestation of rodents.

My friends and I tried not to get our hopes up, but of course we all hoped and prayed that our husbands would indeed receive one of these mid-tour leaves. Sign us up for that right away!

Immediately, we started seeing soldiers come home on pass. We were excited to see them, and it filled us with even more anticipation of “What about me? Am I next?”

And right away, Alan began his campaign to keep me from getting my hopes up.

Alan had no intention of taking any pass. If there were a limited number of mid-tour leaves available, then Alan maintained that he would not touch one. No way was he taking a pass which may cost a younger soldier, with less rank, or a father who wanted to see their children, theirs.

“April, think about it. Some of these have children they haven’t seen in 6 months. And how would you feel if you saw my boss at home while I wasn’t getting to come home? We don’t want to make anyone feel like that.”

He was right. Eventually, I had to watch all of his bosses come home on leave while Alan stayed in the combat zone. No, it wasn’t a fantastic feeling.

That’s Alan. Always taking the high road. Yes, that’s one reason I married him, but how irritating was this now.

At first I fought it.

It was hard for me to convert to this unselfish way of thinking. Alan hardly had any rank, it seemed. He was a lieutenant. That’s as low as you can go in the officer ranks, but compared to the average, young enlisted men it was a different story.

Everyone had a hard job over there. It’s war. War is ugly, but the lower you are on the totem pole, the greater the likelihood of getting the worst job (in my opinion) of all…..burning out the outhouse waste. There’s actually a registry now of all soldiers exposed to that toxin.

I didn’t want to think about who wouldn’t get a pass if he did. I just wanted HIM to get one! He deserved it. They ALL deserved it. Oh! The insanity of it all!

But in the end, I was proud of Alan for declining to take a mid-tour leave. I accepted what he was doing as the right thing to do.

I stood by and watched as one by one, all of my friends’ husbands came home for their two-week pass. Jealousy threatened, I know it did.

Sure, I was jealous. Who wouldn’t be? But at the same time, I was happy for my friends. I was especially happy for the ones who were still having a harder time emotionally and for the fathers and children reunited.

Isn’t it funny how sometimes you have to work at being a good person? Ha! I sometimes had to work at it, but not too hard. It made me happy to see my friends happy, and yes, it made me sad too. I wasn’t sad that they got to see their husbands. I was only sad that I didn’t get to see mine. Why couldn’t we ALL get this privilege? I’m sure there was a good reason, though I don’t know what it was.

Ever the optimist, sometimes I’d allow myself to dream that one day he’d just show up at my door, on a surprise mid-tour leave. Surely he was just taking me for a ride. Really he was coming home just like everyone else.

But it never happened. 

Alan did eventually receive a pass, though it wasn’t nearly as awesome as going home for 2 weeks. Instead, they sent service members who did not receive a mid-tour leave like Alan on a 3 day pass to Qatar.

He got to relax for a few days without the stress of war, and that’s the most important thing, though 3 days doesn’t sound like much. It was definitely better than nothing.

I laughed because the kitty that I was fostering belonged to an Air Force officer who was deployed to Qatar. In this case, the Air Force’s deployment location was the Army’s vacation spot. ha!!

While Alan was in Qatar, he went shopping in a local mall there. He sent me photos from the Starbucks and such to show me how Westernized Qatar is.

That crazy man purchased a full burqa for me and Middle Eastern clothes for himself as well. He thought it would be so hilarious if we wore those to the mall in Killeen whenever he got home from the war and just watch people’s reactions. I told him no way. He was out of touch (literally) to think people in Texas in 2004 would find it funny for us to dress like that and go hang out at the mall.

Alan may be extra responsible and kind, but now you also know that he has a good sense of humor and enjoys shocking people. I, on the other hand, would rather never shock anyone.

As you can see from the women’s clothing around Alan and the other soldiers, Qatar is still a very strict Muslim society.

We weren’t the only ones to not receive mid-tour leave. We were just the only ones of my close friends, so it seemed like EVERYONE got one but us.

You can also see (in the photos above) that there were actually plenty of young soldiers who did not receive a mid-tour leave. I think there may have been some sort of lottery that Alan asked them to leave his name out of or something.

I’m thankful they gave at least some of the soldiers a mid-tour leave. Some is better than none, but it was a giant disappointment for all the ones denied that leave. I don’t know. Maybe Alan wasn’t all that disappointed, but I can guarantee you that many were.

Years later, when Alan went back to Iraq in 2008-2009, we DID receive a mid-tour leave, by then everyone did, and it was so sweet. We took the boys to Disney World, and it was such a blessing that helped Joshua (then age 3) to remember who his father was.

the Persian Gulf

Be sure to come back next week for the day Alan’s parents woke me up with BIG news from the war, involving Alan! Here’s a hint: It was December 13, 2003, and I have AMAZING photos of this event.

Join in the conversation. I love comments!

Pingback: Inside the Saddam Hole, December 2003 - Stories of Our Boys

How unselfish of Alan and yet that would be SO hard as such a young, new bride 😟

Wow to the Dunkin and Starbucks in Qatar! I totally get it about having to try to be a good person sometimes. It’s totally ok to feel those feelings. I would have been disappointed too. But I’m glad he did eventually take a mid-tour leave later!

Isn’t it neat to get a peek into life in other countries? And yes, trying to be a good person sometimes…the struggle is real.

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Money blog: Eight major price hikes next week - but it's not all bad news as pensions, benefits and your take-home pay rise

National Price Hike Day is on Monday, with water bills, broadband, council tax and the TV licence among the things going up. Read this and more in the Money blog - your place for consumer and personal finance news. Leave a comment on the stories we're covering, or a Money Problem, below.

Tuesday 26 March 2024 20:05, UK

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Ask a question or make a comment

1 April (next Monday) is nicknamed National Price Hike Day, as it's when government bodies and private companies traditionally increase the cost of goods and services ahead of the new financial year.

So what can we expect this year?

TV and broadband

BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone customers will be charged 7.9% more from April. These companies pin their prices to December's inflation figure plus 3.9%, which is common practice in the industry.

Virgin Media and O2, which merged in 2021, are upping prices by 8.8%, as they use the retail price index from January plus 3.9%. There are caveats which mean some O2 customers will see prices rise by less than this.

Sky is also implementing price rises, meaning most Sky TV and broadband customers will pay an average of 6.7% more from 1 April.

Council tax

Most people who live in councils with responsibility for social care in England will see their bills rise by the maximum of 4.99%.

In areas where the councils don't oversee social care, the rise for most will be 2.99%.

Birmingham City Council, which has declared effective bankruptcy, has been given permission to hike council tax by 21% over two years due to a black hole caused partly by equal pay claims and a botched IT systems rollout.

Council tax has been frozen by the devolved government in Scotland, while rises in Wales range anywhere from 3% to 21%. Northern Ireland uses a rating system instead of council tax, and rises are also expected here.

The annual cost of a standard colour TV licence will rise to £169.50 from 1 April - an increase of £10.50 on the current price of £159 a year.

Rent for social housing

The CPI rate of inflation in September - 6.7% - is used to determine the yearly rise in rents. 

For 2024-25, the limit will be 6.7% plus an additional 1%.

The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales will go up by an average of 6% from April . 

Water UK said the increases would leave households with an average annual bill of £473.

Vehicle excise duty will rise on all but the cleanest new and used cars in April.

Increases are generally calculated in line with the RPI rate of inflation and are expected to be about 6%.

Train fares

Rail fares will rise by 8.7% in April for those in Scotland, after the Scottish government argued previous fare freezes were not sustainable. 

For those in England and Wales, fares rose by 4.9% on 3 March. 

The Royal Mail will raise the price of stamps again as the company struggles with a decline in the number of letters being posted.

The price of a first class and second class stamp will increase by 10p to £1.35 and 85p respectively from 2 April.

It's not all bad news in April

National insurance

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the budget earlier this month that the starting rate for NI will change from 10% to 8% from 6 April.

This will benefit 27 million workers, he said, and is worth about £450 a year to an employee on an average salary of £35,000.

NI for two million self-employed workers is also being cut.

Their rate will fall from 8% to 6%. The government says that is worth £350 to a self-employed person earning £28,200.

Child benefit

The amount people can earn before child benefit is reduced or taken away is increasing.

At the moment, people lose 1% of the benefit for every £100 they earn over £50,000. At £60,000, the benefit is cut completely.

From April, the benefit won't be reduced until one parent earns more than £60,000. And it will only go completely at £80,000.

Benefits and tax credits that are linked to inflation will rise by 6.7% in April.

That was the level CPI in September.

For joint claimants over the age of 25, universal credit standard allowances will rise from £578.82 to £617.60 per month.

The basic and new state pension will rise by 8.5% in April - to £11,502 a year.

The new state pension is for those reaching state pension age on or after 6 April 2016. It will rise to £221.20 a week - up from £203.85.

Minimum wage

The National Minimum Wage for those 21 and over will rise to £11.44 - an increase of £1.02, or 9.8%.

There are larger percentage increases for younger age groups -as well as a 21.2% rise for apprentices (going up to £6.40).

Energy price cap

From 1 April to 30 June this year the price paid by a typical household that uses electricity and gas will go down to £1,690 a year.

This is £238 a year lower than the price cap between 1 January and 31 March this year. 

For the first time, COVID-19 jabs will be available on the high street.

Boots has become the first major pharmacy to launch a private vaccination service, with at least 50 stores offering the single-dose Pfizer vaccine.

The shot will be available from 1 April for anyone aged 12 or over - but there's a hefty price tag.

The vaccine will be priced at £98.95. 

Boots has said it is working to make the vaccine more affordable, but the COVID jabs are more expensive to produce than others.

Some people are still eligible to get a booster vaccine for free on the NHS - including those over 65 or with weakened immune systems due to conditions such as cancer.

The discount supermarket has said it plans to increase its animal welfare standards by allowing more space for its chickens to roam. 

Chickens used in its own-label products will have 20% more space than the industry standard, with a maximum density of 30kg per square metre, Lidl said.

The transition will start this summer and should finish by early next year. 

The move will provide chickens with more space to roam, which Lidl said "enables them to engage in natural behaviours like stretching their wings, dust bathing and exploring, bolstering both physical and psychological well-being, leading to more fulfilling lives".

Lidl GB chief commercial officer Richard Bourns said: "Animal welfare is a priority for us, and we are dedicated to ensuring all animals within our supply chain lead good lives."

The supermarket was previously criticised by campaign group The Humane League UK, which said it was "very resistant" to making changes on animal welfare.

It had called on Lidl and other supermarkets to sign the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) - a welfare policy requiring the use of slower-growing breeds, more space, natural light and enrichment, less painful slaughter methods and third-party auditing. 

Partners Ocado and M&S appear to have been involved in a tussle for some weeks, but the former has now insisted they are "absolutely aligned".

The retailers have been in a dispute after M&S put its final payment for the joint venture on hold, saying the online grocer partnership had failed to meet key performance targets. 

M&S was due to pay £190.7m by August, dependent on the venture's performance against an undisclosed target in the year to November 2023. 

Last month, Ocado Group chief executive Tim Steiner said he believed M&S owed a "substantial amount of money" and if a settlement was not agreed it could pursue litigation. 

However, Ocado Retail chief executive Hannah Gibson has now insisted conversations are ongoing and it is not impacting day-to-day operations. 

Ms Gibson claimed both companies were "working really closely operationally together".

"They were in a board meeting and there were positive conversations and relationships going on focused on what we're doing now to grow and improve the business," she said.

"I think we're all absolutely aligned."

Nearly four million smart meters across Great Britain are not working properly , government figures show.

While some 2.7 million meters were not operating in smart mode as of June 2023, that figure increased to 3.98 million by the end of last year, according to data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

Read more here ...

Fundraisers doing door-to-door collections for charities will be monitored more closely , the Fundraising Regulator has said. 

News reports found recruits were being taught pressure-selling tactics, despite the Code of Fundraising Practice warning against putting "undue pressure" on people.

Charities must monitor subcontracting firms carrying out fundraising on their behalf more closely and must ensure fundraisers are given appropriate training. 

ITV racked up millions of pounds in legal costs last year as it dealt with the fallout of the Phillip Schofield scandal , according to a report.

The broadcaster paid £24m in legal fees in 2023, some of which were related to a KC review into Schofield's affair with a young colleague. 

The presenter of This Morning stepped down in May last year, saying his relationship with the studio runner was "unwise, but not illegal". 

ITV was cleared of wrongdoing and has denied it paid a settlement to Schofield or his younger colleague.

Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis has called on the government to close a tax loophole used by fast fashion giants such as Temu and Shein.

He argued companies are avoiding customs bills in the UK by shipping individual orders directly from countries like China, rather than shipping in bulk to fulfilment centres. 

A UK rule means shipments worth less than £135 are exempt from import duties.

Basically, a recession is the decline of a country's gross domestic product (GDP).

It's worth explaining a bit more about what GDP is before we get in-depth on recession.

Gross domestic product is the world's most closely watched economic indicator. It measures how much is produced, how much is spent and how much is earned in an economy over a certain period of time.

When GDP goes up, the economy is considered to be doing well.

When it goes down - negative growth or economic contraction - it's not doing well.

The most commonly used definition of a recession is when GDP falls for at least two successive three-month periods, or "quarters".

The Office for National Statistics says the "two quarters" rule has the potential to be misleading, however, as there are other factors that might mean GDP falls for six months that won't mean an economy is in recession.

But it's widely used - including by the Bank of England - as a rule of thumb.

Recessions are temporary and part of the economic cycle. If an economic downturn is particularly severe or lasts for a long period of time, it's known as a depression.

Why do some people talk about a 'technical recession'?

You may have heard economists, journalists or statisticians use this phrase before.

As we've said above, in the UK a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth regardless of how deep, wide-ranging and long an economic downturn is.

Some will use the phrase "technical recession" to identify that they're applying this prescriptive definition of a recession, compared to, say, the US where the National Bureau of Economic Research will consider a broader range of economic indicators, such as unemployment, job vacancies and wage data, before declaring whether the economy is in recession.

What causes a recession?

It's difficult to determine exactly what causes a recession, as a number of factors can be at play.

They can be triggered by rising interest rates, economic shocks such as that experienced during the COVID pandemic, excess debt in the housing market (2008 crisis) and oversupply of goods and services - among many other things.

What happens during a recession and how would it affect me?

During a recession there's less money circulating, which can mean job losses, pay cuts, recruitment freezes and businesses shutting up shop.

Getting a mortgage or loan during a recession will prove hard as banks tighten their lending criteria.

It is also likely a recession will not be felt equally across society, with those on benefits, in precarious work or without savings faring worse.

Are we in a recession now?

Figures released by the ONS last month showed the UK slipped into a recession at the end of 2023.

But the economy is set to grow more than expected in 2024, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility - the country's fiscal watchdog - which is also expecting better economic growth in 2025 than previously forecast.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, also hinted in February that the recession may "already be over". He told a committee of MPs he believed the downturn would be one of the most shallow recession events of modern times.

Read other entries in our Basically... series:

Prosecutions for low level offences such as speeding, truancy and TV licence fee non-payments are usually dealt with behind-closed-doors by the Single Justice Procedure (SJP).

It's designed to keep the court system efficient and minimise delays to more serious cases in the magistrates' courts. 

But the Magistrates' Association has intervened to call for a reform of the SJP system, saying "flaws" in the system mean magistrates do not have enough time to consider cases and that it is harming "some of society's most vulnerable people". 

The association is urging the Ministry of Justice to carry out a 12-point plan, including allowing prosecutors to see all pleas and mitigations beforehand, and letting the sittings be observed by journalists. 

Up to 40,000 SJP cases are currently decided in private each month. 

News reports say cases prosecuted by the SJP include a 78-year-old with dementia fined for not having car insurance while she was in a care home, a 33-year-old given a £781 legal bill after accidentally failing to pay £4 to the DVLA, and an 85-year-old woman prosecuted for not paying car insurance after suffering a broken neck and being admitted to a care home. 

A black Uber Eats courier has been given a payout to end a legal claim in which he alleged he was unfairly blocked from work because the company's facial recognition app was racist.

Pa Manjang had his courier account suspended after being told security selfie checks he provided had "continued mismatches". 

Couriers need to provide the photo checks at the start of their shifts, but Mr Manjang said he had been asked to take pictures of himself "multiple times a day" because the AI software failed to recognise him.

He told Uber Eats: "Your algorithm, by the looks of things, is racist."

The food delivery app has said its verification process also involves human reviewers.  

Mr Manjang was backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the App Drivers and Couriers Union, who funded his case.

Both said they were concerned by the use of AI in this instance, "particularly how it could be used to permanently suspend a driver's access to the app, depriving them of an income".

Uber Eats has made a settlement in the case, but reports suggest it accepts no liability.

The company said in a statement to Sky News that the real-time ID check "was not the reason for Mr Manjang's brief loss of access to his courier account".

"Our Real Time ID check is designed to help keep everyone who uses our app safe, and includes robust human review to make sure that we're not making decisions about someone's livelihood in a vacuum, without oversight," it said.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire , business reporter

The possibility of a new record high being reached by the most valuable companies of the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 has ebbed away. 

The index is down slightly (0.06%) this morning, no longer within touching distance of the all-time high in the combined value of the FTSE 100 companies recorded in February last year, as the rally that came late last week receded. 

The news that Asos sales fell 18% in the six months to March did nothing to dent the share price - it was up 7.6% but comes after a fall of 90% across the last three years. 

Performing well this morning is gambling giant Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair brands. Today it announced it is moving its primary stock exchange listing to New York on 31 May, a blow to London. But it also recorded revenue growth of 17.3% in the UK and Ireland as it said its market share grew in the countries. 

Oil prices have fallen from the $87 a barrel cost of Monday and now the benchmark Brent crude oil costs $86.8.

A pound buys $1.2647 and €1.1659.

Chocolate is among the products placing upwards pressure on grocery inflation in the run-up to Easter, according to closely watched supermarket data.

Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks pricing and market share, reported a further slowing in the pace of price growth across the sector over the four weeks to 17 March.

It said the annual rate for grocery inflation eased to 4.5% - down from the 5.3% figure recorded the previous month.

The report credited price matching guarantees across the industry, as shoppers continue to seek out value amid the wider cost of living crisis that is continuing to damage household spending power despite wage growth firmly outstripping the rate of inflation.

Kantar reported that prices were rising fastest in markets such as sugar confectionery and chocolate confectionery.

Global cocoa prices have nearly doubled so far this year. Heavy rains in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have hit production.

Things falling fastest include butter, milk and toilet tissues, it found.

You can read more from our business reporter James Sillars here...

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