COVENANT
The RAF Families Federation is amongst the first organisations to sign up to the
Corporate Covenant Armed Forces T
he Prime Minister has hosted the first of what will now be an annual Armed Forces charities reception at 10
Downing Street. David Cameron used the occasion to thank the first 50 companies to sign up to the flagship Armed Forces Corporate Covenant.
The Covenant was enshrined in law in 2011 to set in stone the moral obligation owed to the Armed Forces by government and the nation. The Corporate Covenant was announced in June this year, allowing businesses to sign up and show what they can do for our Forces.
The response from businesses around the UK has been impressive with commitments including: • Barclays agreeing to provide free calls for serving customers so they don’t have to use their welfare minutes to phone their bank
• National Express – the UKs largest coach operator – offering the Forces community a discount of 60% off all standard coach fares via the Defence Discount Scheme and a guaranteed interview scheme for eligible service leavers
• Virgin Media freezing accounts of serving personnel for up to 8 months while they are serving overseas
• The AA also freezing accounts for personnel serving overseas and offering discounted membership to all serving personnel
Speaking at the event the Prime Minister said:
“I am immensely proud to be in a room full of people this evening who are supporting our Armed Forces community. It is also important that we have representatives from a great cross section of the 50 companies that have
28 Envoy Winter 2013
signed up to the Corporate Covenant here this evening. The whole nation owes a moral obligation to our troops and these companies are leading the way by making respect and support for the Armed Forces a part of everything they do. This is the first annual Armed Forces charities reception and I look forward to having as much to celebrate next year”.
Defence Minister Anna Soubry said: “I am extremely pleased that so many companies have shown their support for the Armed Forces by signing up to the Corporate Covenant. Our Armed Forces and their families give everything to our country so it is only right that society, including businesses, recognise their tremendous contribution and sacrifice. Some of the UK’s leading businesses and employers from across the country have come up with excellent offers, and I hope that many more will be spurred on to get behind the Corporate Covenant in any way they can.
Holly Davies, Chief Executive of the Felix Fund said: “Thanks to The Armed Forces Covenant, Felix Fund can help another 120 bomb disposal experts re-adjust after exhausting and potentially traumatic tours of Afghanistan. Previously we could only reunite four-man EOD teams on our therapeutic ‘Normalisation breaks’. We now have the funds to include the Advanced Searchers, Dog Handlers and forensics personnel that make up the complete Brimstone counter-IED call sign. The two grants from the Libor Fund have been invaluable”.
The Corporate Covenant and just who has signed up
A corporate covenant is a written and publicised voluntary pledge from businesses and charitable organisations who wish to demonstrate their concrete support for the Armed Forces community.
All corporate covenants include a core statement of commitment that those adopting the scheme sign up to. The two key principles are that: • no member of the Armed Forces community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen
• in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured or bereaved
Each organisation is also encouraged to offer support in ways most appropriate to their situation and capacity, with the pledge document including options for them to sign up to.
For example, a business or charity might wish to promote their organisation as Armed Forces friendly, through participation in Armed Forces Day, or through exclusive discounts to personnel and members of their family.
Larger organisations may wish to actively seek to employ serving reservist personnel for the skills they have or strive to support the employment of those who have left the Services and/or their spouses.
A corporate covenant might be adopted by a business or charitable organisation that already employs members of the Armed Forces community or the organisation might simply wish to acknowledge publicly its support for the Services.
Membership of the corporate covenant scheme offers companies and organisations
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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