Continuous working patterns 2025/26: questionnaire
Published 30 July 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-continuous-working-patterns-survey-202526/continuous-working-patterns-202526-questionnaire
1. Section One: Your Service Details
In which of the following rank groups are you?
Royal Navy only (RN Captain to Commodore (RM Colonel to Brigadier)\ Lieutenant Commander to Commander (RM Major to Lieutenant Colonel)\ Midshipman to Lieutenant (RM 2Lt to Captain)\ Petty Officer to Warrant Officer (RM Sergeant to Warrant Officer)\ Able Rate to Leading Rate (RM Marine to Corporal))
Army only (Colonel to Brigadier\ Major to Lt Colonel\ 2nd Lieutenant to Captain\ Sergeant to Warrant Officer\ Private to Corporal)
RAF only (Group Captain to Air Commodore\ Squadron Leader to Wing Commander\ Pilot Officer to Flight Lieutenant\ Sergeant to Warrant Officer/Master Aircrew\ Air Recruit to Corporal)
What BRANCH\Regiment/Corps\Specialisation are you in?
Royal Navy and Royal Marines only (Warfare\ Engineering\ Logistics\ Medical\ Dental\ Chaplin\ Nursing\ Royal Marines\ Other)
Royal Navy Other Ranks only (Warfare\ Marine Engineering\ Weapon Engineering\ Air Engineering\ Logistics\ Medical/Dental\ Service Police/Coxswain/PT/Phot\ Fleet Air Arm (but not Air Engineering)\ Family Services\ QARNNS\ Other)
Royal Marines Other Ranks only (GD/Specialist Quals (SQ)\ Technical Quals (TQ)\ Specialist (SP)\ RM Musician\ Bugler)
Army only (H Cav/RAC\ RE\ R Signals\ Infantry\ AAC\ RLC\ REME\ AGC\ Army Medical Services\ Other)
RAF Officers only (General Duties\ Flying\ Air Ops Ctrl\ Air Ops Sys\ Intelligence\ RAF Regiment\ Provost\ Engineering\ Logistics\ People Ops\ Chaplin\ Director of Music\ Legal\Medical\ MSO\ Dental\ Nursing\ Cyberspace\ Other)
RAF Other Ranks only (Aircraft Engineering\ Information and Communication Technology\ General Engineering\ Logistics Driver\ NCC\ ASOS/ASOM\ Force Protection\ RAF PTI\ Intelligence\ Survival Equipment Fitter\ Photographic/Air Cart\ Medical\ Dental\ People Ops\ Logistics (Supply/Movement\ Logistics(Catering/Chef)\ Musician\ Obsolescent Trades\ Non-commissioned Aircrew\ Other)
Which LOCATION were you mainly serving this week?
Royal Navy only (Sea service\Shore Service)
Army only(England/ Wales/ Scotland/ Northern Ireland\ Germany\ Overseas Operations Theatres\ Elsewhere Abroad)
RAF only (England/ Wales/ Scotland/ Northern Ireland\ Overseas Operations Theatres\ Elsewhere Abroad)
For the week recorded, what was your principal activity?
Royal Navy personnel who answered location as Sea-based only (At Sea\ Alongside Base Port (Including Refit/FTSP)\ Displaced from Base Port for Refit/ FTSP\ Alongside(Other, including port visit)\ Squad (Harmony time)
Royal Navy personnel who answered location as Shore-based, Army personnel and RAF personnel only (Routine Work\ Operational tour\ Deployed in support of UK based Operations\ Exercise\ Pre-deployment training\ Other)
If you were on Sea Service, do you conduct periods of duty alongside in your unit that requires you to remain onboard for 24 hours?
Asked only for Royal Navy personnel who answered location as Sea-based (Yes\ No)
If you were on Sea Service, how many 24-hour duties have you conducted within the last 30 days?
Asked only for Royal Navy personnel who answered location as Sea-based (Asked to write in a number)
What date did your diary start on? This must be a Monday.
(DD\MM\YYYY)
2. Section Two: Your Working Patterns For One Week
Monday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Tuesday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today? (Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Wednesday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Thursday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Friday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Saturday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On stand down/weekend leave\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
Sunday
Were you deployed on operations, exercise or at sea today?
(Yes\ No)
Were you:
(Not on leave today\ On stand down/weekend leave\ On leave all day today\ On sick leave all day today)
Diary
| 00:01 to | 06:00 | 06:00 to | 12:00 | 12:00 to | 18:00 | 18:00 to | 24:00 | |
| Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | Hours | Minutes | |
| Work | ||||||||
| Breaks | ||||||||
| On Call | ||||||||
| Off duty | ||||||||
| Total |
Please check that all sections add up to exactly 6 hours
3. Section Three: Designated Readiness Over The Past Week
During the past week how many days did you spend on the following activities or designated states of readiness? (Please check that your answers add up to 7 days)
| Days | |
| Deployed on operations, exercise or at sea | |
| Immediate readiness: 24 hours or less | |
| Immediate readiness: Less than 2 days | |
| Extremely high readiness: R1 (2 days NTM) | |
| Very High readiness: R2 or R3 (5 or 10 days NTM) | |
| High readiness: R4 or R5 (20 or 30 days NTM) | |
| Medium readiness:R6 to R8 (40, 60 or 90 days) | |
| Low or very low readiness: R9 to R11 (180 days or more) | |
| Not held on a state of readiness | |
| Total |
4. Section 4: Leave Over the Last Twelve Months
During the last twelve months, did you have to change authorised periods of leave for Service reasons?
(Yes/ No)
How many times during the last twelve months did you have to change authorised periods of leave for Service reasons?
(Once\ Twice\ Three times\ More than three times)