Project SALICE: Supporting the people and families behind the NATO mission
Project SALICE
addresses practical obstacles faced by UK personnel and their families serving
in NATO Command and Force structures – underpinning the Government’s 'NATO
First' approach.
When a soldier, sailor or aviator is posted overseas for NATO, their family often goes with them. Their partner may have to give up their job, and their children may need new schools. Life must be rebuilt in a new country.
‘NATO First’ is not just a commitment made in policy documents, but the guiding principle for all our military plans and activities – and Project SALICE is here to address the challenges that can arise with an international move and to support families serving with NATO overseas.
“The UK is one of NATO's strongest members. Our Armed Forces work every day alongside allies to keep our country and Europe safe – with the right people, in the right places, at the right time
“But keeping the best people in our Armed Forces doesn't depend only on good training and kit. It depends on Service life being a good life, for the whole family – and that is the purpose of Project SALICE
“When our people know that their families are settled, their partners have every opportunity to work, and the practical side of overseas life is manageable, they can focus on their mission – being ready to deter, fight and win.”
The project covers: partner employment, education, accommodation, career management, policies and processes, and the Armed Forces Covenant.
Partner employment
Right now, particular attention is being focused on tackling these barriers to partner employment, and the Project SALICE team is tackling this in three ways:
- New guides – explaining the
work rules for partners in every EU country: these will
be available later this summer on GOV.UK. [KL1] [CA2] Where
rules are unfair or unclear, the team is pushing for change – talks are
already under way with Italy and Denmark.
- Support for partners in specific
professions
– the team is looking at what more can be done to support partners who
work in healthcare, and other professions will also be considered over the
coming months.
- Changing things at home – International Remote Working
(IRW) policies are being reviewed across Government departments. While
most departments now have IRW policies in place, approaches vary in how
they work in practice. In collaboration with the
Government People Group, Defence is therefore undertaking a
cross-government exercise to gather and compare IRW policies.
These include:
- Simpler moving costs: The Global
Mobility Allowance trial provides an alternative to separate payments,
with lump sums at the start and end of a posting. The Disturbance
Expense rate on return has also been increased to match what you
receive when you go overseas.
- Easier trips home: Following a
successful trial in Belgium, the European Commuting Allowance
became permanent policy in October 2025 and now covers the whole of
Europe. If you have a home in the UK and are posted to an eligible
European location, you can claim up to two trips home each month. This
also gives married personnel and those in civil partnerships the choice to
serve unaccompanied.
- Funded childcare overseas: Since September
2025, eligible working families can claim for up to 30 hours of funded
childcare a week – the same as families in England – for children aged
nine months to school age, during term time.
- Before and after school childcare: The
new Primary School Aged Childcare Overseas (PSACO) allowance
enables eligible families to claim back the cost of up to 20 hours of
before and after school childcare during term time, for children aged four
to eleven.[RC3] This is available
in overseas locations where it is not possible to claim Wraparound
Childcare allowance.
- Less admin for Senior
Non-Commissioned ranks: Travel delegations have been increased to
reduce unnecessary paperwork.
- A new career management initiative: This aims to attract highly skilled volunteers to NATO posts,
develop their NATO experience, re-invest their experience back into the
UK, and help them stand out as strong candidates for more senior NATO
roles.
Coming soon: an app to help you plan
your posting
Find out more
[KL1]@Cala, Sophie (DSP-EASP-Res AH) - do we
have an expected timeframe for when these will be available on GOV.UK? If it is
very soon - is it worth delaying this article going live, so that we can
include a link to the guides - or will the publication of those be announced
separately via appropriate channels for the relevant audience?
[CA2]I
think we'll publish them in July/August. They will be advertised separately.
[RC3]Alternative
suggestion - The new PSACO allowance enables eligible families to claim back
the cost of up to 20 hours of before and after school childcare during term
time, for children aged four to eleven. Available in overseas locations where
it is not possible to claim the Wraparound Childcare allowance.