Message from Piers :
The Ministry of Defence run a scheme for employers to be recognised for their approach to ex-forces people seeking employment when they leave the military. It is called the Defence Employers Recognition scheme. There are three grades, and the Council has been previously rated as Bronze. I am pleased to say that following work across a number of areas of the Council we have been awarded the Silver level. In particular, we added guidance on how we would deal with a reservist employee if they were called to active duty. My thanks to everyone who helped us demonstrate the improvements we had made.
Armed Forces Day is on Saturday 24th June. The run up to it, from the 19th June, is Armed Forces Week.
You can find out more about it, including events and getting involved, at Armed Forces Day – 24 June 2023.
You may recall the SLT blog on the 28th April I was looking for someone to take on the officer Armed Forces Champion role. I am really pleased to say the Darrell Rhodes has volunteered, for which I am very grateful. Darrell has some great ideas to mainstream thinking about the needs of ex-forces in our internal and external policy making. He’ll also be taking on the commitments of a new Armed Forces Covenant that the Council should sign in July.