The Armed Forces Covenant

Written into law, the covenant states that Armed Forces personnel, veterans or their families will not be disadvantaged by their military life when accessing goods and services, compared to other citizens. It also recognises that in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured or bereaved. In signing the Covenant, we have pledged to publicise our commitment to its principles, and support our Armed Forces community.

As a Service, we will promote the fact that we are an Armed Forces-friendly organisation, to our staff, customers, suppliers, contractors and wider public.

We will support the employment of veterans by including them as a group supported by our Armed Forces Champion and positive action work which will:

• Provide extra support and advice throughout the recruitment and selection process
• Work with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to support the employment of Service leavers

We will support the employment of Service spouses and partners by:

• Partnering with the Forces Families Jobs Forum
• Providing flexibility in granting leave for spouses and partners before, during and after their partners’ deployment

We will support our employees who are members of the Reserve Forces by granting an additional 10 days leave for annual training, supporting any mobilisations and deployment, and by actively encouraging members of staff to become Reservists.

We will support our employees who are volunteer leaders in military cadet organisations by:

• Actively encouraging members of staff to become volunteer leaders
• Supporting local military cadet units
• Recognising the benefits of employing cadets/ex-cadets within the workforce

We will support Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal Day and Remembrance activities.

We will support Armed Forces charities with fundraising and will support staff who volunteer to assist.

Read more about the re-signing ceremony.