We are proud to share that we are now signatories on the Armed Forces Covenant. 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. The covenant focusses on helping members of the armed forces community have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizen.

We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by:

• promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation
• 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 employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible
• recognising military skills and qualifications when interviewing for new positions
• a commitment to fair interviews to veterans and the spouses/partners of service personnel if they meet the selection criteria laid out in a job advert
• support the employment of service spouses and partners by directing recruitment campaigns to the Armed Forces community, such as advertising through service-friendly recruitment agencies and service charities for relevant roles
• as we support military communities globally, we commit to attempt to find alternative employment within the business in another location, if current employees need to move to accompany their partner
• support the Career Transition Partnership (www.ctp.org.uk), a recruitment service for organisations providing employment opportunities for veterans who are leaving the Armed Forces wherever possible
• offering support to our local cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools, where possible
• aiming to actively participate in Armed Forces Day;

For more information on the Armed Forces Covenant, visit their website, here: www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk

You can view our full pledge here.