Armed Forces Covenant

What is the Armed Forces Covenant?

To those who proudly protect our nation, who do so with honour, courage, and commitment, the Armed Forces Covenant is the nation’s commitment to you.

It is a pledge that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.

As a business, we are proud to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and have received the Bronze Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme. We have made pledged to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant by:

promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation by publicising our Covenant pledge on our website and displaying the Covenant Logo;
seeking to provide support Veterans, Service spouses and partners and members of the Reserve forces who wish to become or are self-employed by:
- working with other organisations, such as X Forces, to provide advice in the early stages of self-employment,
- advertising our services via veteran networks and websites,
- promoting the range of networking opportunities and support available to veterans both during meetings and via our website and social media platforms;
striving to support the (future) employment of Service spouses and partners by:
- advertising widely in the Armed Forces Community,
- welcoming applications from spouses/partners who meet the criteria in the job specification,
- endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment;
seeking to support our (future) employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including accommodating their training and deployment where possible by:
- up to 2 weeks per year of special paid leave will be available to attend annual training camps,
- accommodation of Reserve training commitments wherever possible,
- fully supporting and accommodating mobilised deployment of Reservist employees if required;
aiming to participate actively in Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day by promoting it through our website, social media and other networks;
offering a discount of 10% to card carrying members of the Armed Forces Community;

Be a forces friendly employer

Reservists and veterans bring a variety of transferable skills and qualities to the civilian workplace, developed throughout their military careers.

These 3 short films below eloquently articulate the range of transferable skills that a career in the military provides and MOD wholeheartedly endorses the key message that companies of all shapes and sizes should consider the proven business benefits of hiring veterans.

They have been produced by Deloitte (one of the earliest signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and an Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award Winner) in collaboration with the Officers Association (a member of MOD’s Career Transition Partnership), Business in The Community and the Drive Project. It is important that whilst we continue to improve support for the minority of service leavers and their families who face challenges after leaving, we also recognise and celebrate that most veterans leave enriched by their service.

Being flexible to the unique situations of the wider armed forces community ensures fair treatment to all who are involved, including the spouses and partners, and cadet force adult volunteers.

Employer Recognition Scheme

The Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) acknowledges employers who have provided exceptional support to the armed forces community and defence by going above and beyond their covenant pledges.

Through a 3 tier approach of bronze, silver and gold awards, the scheme recognises the different levels of commitment provided by employers. This allows the Ministry of Defence to publicly thank and honour those organisation for their support.

You can nominate yourself for a Bronze award . Silver and Gold awards are bestowed to organisations meeting specific criteria.

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