Reserve Forces Act 1980

Discharge

98Entitlement to discharge

(1)A man of the Territorial Army or of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force shall (save as is provided in this Act) be entitled to be discharged before the end of his current term of service on complying with the following conditions—

(a)giving to his commanding officer 3 months' notice in writing, or such less notice as may be prescribed, of his desire to be discharged ; and

(b)paying for the use of the association administering the unit in which he is serving, or, if the unit is administered by more than one association, the association administering the part of that unit in which he is serving, such sum as may be prescribed not exceeding £5 ; and

(c)delivering up in good order, fair wear and tear only excepted, all arms, clothing and appointments, being public property issued to him, or, in cases where for any good or sufficient cause the delivery of that property is impossible, paying its value.

(2)The association, or any officer authorised by the association may, in any case in which it appears that the reasons for which the discharge is claimed are of sufficient urgency or weight, dispense either wholly or in part with all or any of the above conditions.

99Liability to discharge

(1)A man of the Territorial Army or of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force may be discharged by his commanding officer—

(a)for disobedience to orders by him while doing any military or air force duty, as the case may be; or

(b)for neglect of such duty, or for misconduct by him as a man of the Territorial Army or of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, as the case may be; or

(c)for other sufficient cause, the existence and sufficiency of such cause to be judged by the commanding officer.

(2)A man so discharged shall be entitled to appeal to the Defence Council, who may give such directions in any such case as they may think just and proper.

100Postponement of discharge: Territorial Army and Royal Auxiliary Air Force

(1)Where the time at which a man of the Territorial Army or the Royal Auxiliary Air Force would otherwise be entitled to be discharged occurs during a period of emergency, he may be required to prolong his service for such further term, not exceeding 12 months, as the Defence Council or an officer designated by them may order.

(2)A man shall not during a period of emergency be entitled to be discharged under section 98 above.

(3)In this section the expression " period of emergency" means—

(a)in relation to a man of the Territorial Army, any period while an order under section 10(1) above is in force ordering the Army Reserve to be called out for permanent service;

(b)in relation to a man of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, any period—

(i)while an order under section 10(1) is in force ordering the Air Force Reserve to be called out for permanent service; or

(ii)while the man in question is called out for home defence service.

101Postponement of discharge: Territorial Army

(1)A man of the Territorial Army who is a person to whom section 11 above applies shall not be entitled to be discharged under section 98 above during any period while an order is in force under section 12(1) above.

(2)Subsections (1) and (2) of section 100 above shall have effect, in relation to a man who enlists or re-engages in the Territorial Army on or after 1st April 1967, as if the period of emergency within the meaning of that section included any period while he is called out for home defence service.

102Enlistment into other reserves

If a man—

(a)of the Territorial Army enlists into the Army Reserve without being discharged from the Territorial Army, or

(b)of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force enlists into the Air Force Reserve without being discharged from the Royal Auxiliary Air Force,

the terms and conditions of service applicable to men of the Territorial Army or of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force shall cease to apply to him while he remains in the Army Reserve or in the Air Force Reserve, as the case may be.