If you’ve suffered an injury or illness while serving on active duty in the UK armed forces, you could be eligible for financial support. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) is a government initiative that provides help, whether this is a one-off payment or ongoing financial assistance.
The scheme is open to individuals who’ve sustained injuries and illnesses as a direct result of their service. Ongoing health problems can make it difficult to find ex military jobs after leaving the armed forces or limit the number of available jobs for veterans in the UK. Financial support from the government can help with any difficulties you may encounter and provide long-term security.
If you’ve been injured or picked up an illness while serving, here’s everything you ought to know about getting the help you need.
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme entitles current and former members of the military to financial help for any injury, illness or death that occurred as a result of their service on or after 6th April 2005. For those who experienced an injury or illness as a result of an incident before this date, separate support is available under the War Pensions Scheme (WPS).
An AFCS claim can also be made in the event of a service-related death, with benefits being paid to partners or children.
The AFCS is a ‘no-fault’ scheme, meaning it doesn’t require HM Armed Forces or any individual to accept blame for an injury or illness. This means that if you do receive a payment, you may still be able to make a civil claim for common law damages, although an individual cannot be compensated twice for the same injury.
The AFCS covers injury, illness or death caused or made worse by service in the armed forces on or after 6th April 2005. Eligibility for claims includes:
The AFCS only covers conditions caused or made worse by your military service, whether they arise from operations, training, exercises or other service-approved activities. It recognises a broad range of physical and psychological conditions, provided the link to your service can be reasonably established.
These are among the most common claims and can result from a single incident or build up over time. Typical examples include broken bones, burns, blast wounds and soft-tissue damage, along with more serious cases such as spinal injury or the loss of a limb. Many arise from combat, accidents or the physical demands of training, while overuse injuries such as from carrying heavy kit may also qualify.
Psychological conditions are covered where they are formally diagnosed and linked to service. Common examples include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. These often develop gradually, so a claim can still be made even if symptoms don’t surface until some time after the events that caused them. Mental health conditions are an increasingly recognised basis for a claim.
Noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus are frequent claims, reflecting routine exposure to weapons, aircraft and machinery. The scheme also recognises other service-related conditions, including cold injuries, illnesses caused by hazardous substances and long-term conditions that worsen over time. If you believe a condition can be traced to your service, it’s worth checking whether it qualifies.
Because AFCS claims are assessed case by case, there is no definitive list of what is or isn’t covered. The guiding principle is that compensation is generally awarded only where a condition can be shown to have been caused or significantly worsened by service. Generally speaking, the weaker the link to your service, the less likely a claim is to succeed. On that basis, the following are not normally eligible:
The amount you receive depends on the severity of your injury or illness, which is assessed against the scheme’s tariff. This is a set of tables covering categories such as burns, amputations and mental health conditions. Within these, every condition is placed at one of 15 levels, with level 1 the most severe and level 15 the least. The most serious cases that will have lifelong consequences, such as the loss of two or more limbs, severe brain injury or blindness, sit at level 1.
Awards then come in two basic forms: a lump sum and, in more serious cases, a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP).
Where a GIP applies, it’s calculated from your basic military salary, minus allowances, at the time you leave service, not from any civilian earnings afterwards. A percentage is applied according to the severity of the injury, up to 100 per cent of your military pay for the most serious, then adjusted for your age, so younger personnel facing a longer loss of earnings receive more.
If you think you’re entitled to financial support from the government due to an injury or illness received during military service, you can make a claim directly with Veterans UK, the government department responsible for handling these affairs. This can be done online via the UK government’s website or by filling out a paper form and posting it. These documents can be requested by calling the Veterans UK helpline or emailing veterans-uk@mod.gov.uk.
Claimants can enlist the help of a paid specialist personal injury or military claims solicitor to complete the process. This must be done at your own expense, but many people find this helpful. Alternatively, free support can be obtained from the Veterans Welfare Service or charities such as the Royal British Legion.
If you left the armed forces with a medical discharge, you might not have to do anything. In such cases, the government may automatically consider whether you’re entitled to an award. However, this will only be the case for the condition that was the main reason for your discharge.
In order to make a successful claim, you may be required to provide a range of evidence about your injury or illness, how it occurred and what impact it has had on your life. Common supporting documentation that your case worker will look into includes:
It’s also helpful to have details such as your service dates and details of any other compensation or benefits received on hand before starting the process.
In most cases you have seven years to make an AFCS claim. Veterans UK notes that the clock starts from the earliest of four dates:
Some exceptions apply. A claim can be accepted outside the seven years where a condition emerges later, or where ill health prevented you from claiming sooner. If you’re unsure, Veterans UK can advise on a possible late claim.
The government aims to process applications and provide compensation within six months of a claim being made. However, in practice, it may take longer than this, especially for more serious and complex cases. If Veterans UK is unable to finalise a claim within three months, it will begin issuing progress updates every 12 weeks until completion of the claim.
If treatment is still ongoing for the injury or illness, an interim decision may be made, which will see you receive compensation that reflects the extent of your injury or illness at that time. This decision will be evaluated within two years and may see your total level of compensation change.
If you believe your claim was wrongly rejected, or are dissatisfied with the level of compensation offered, you can ask for it to be reconsidered. This must be done in writing within 12 months of the date of the original decision notification and may include additional information to support your case which you did not provide at the time of your claim.
This will result in your decision being reviewed by a case worker who was not involved in the original application. In the event this still doesn’t lead to the resolution you were hoping for, you then have the option to appeal to an independent tribunal, provided you do so within 12 months of the final decision.
An AFCS award is meant to be final, set with the expected long-term effects of your injury already built in. However, in exceptional circumstances, you can ask Veterans UK to look again if your condition unexpectedly deteriorates. If this happens within ten years of the original decision, you can request a review. You must apply within one year of the worsening starting, setting out what has changed.
The AFCS is not the only scheme to cover injuries or illnesses sustained in the armed forces. There is also the War Pension Scheme, which is the predecessor to the AFCS. This compensates veterans for injury, illness or death caused by service before 6th April 2005, while the AFCS covers those that occur on or after that date. Both are tax-free, no-fault schemes run by Veterans UK. The two assess claims differently, as the table below shows. Which scheme applies depends only on when your condition arose, not when you claim.
| Feature | War Pension Scheme | Armed Forces Compensation Scheme |
| Injury or illness date | Before 6th April 2005 | On or after 6th April 2005 |
| Assessment | Percentage degree of disablement | Tariff with 15 levels |
| Time limit to claim | None | Usually within seven years |
| Payment | Pension or lump sum | Lump sum plus income payment |
Yes. The AFCS does not stop you pursuing a civil claim, but you cannot be compensated twice, so an award is offset against any damages.
Yes, where the activity was part of service, including approved sport. Injuries at social events, ordinary commuting or unapproved sport are generally excluded.
The lump sum is disregarded as capital for the first 52 weeks. The monthly income payment can be partly counted for income-related benefits, so rules vary.
If your GIP is 50 per cent or more, you may also receive the Armed Forces Independence Payment, a separate tax-free weekly payment.
A £61,800 upfront payment for the most seriously injured still-serving personnel, where an injury falls between tariff levels 1 and 8. Claim within six months.
No, but a GIP is adjusted to take account of any service pension or Early Departure Payment you already receive.
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