Essex County Fire and Rescue Service signs Armed Forces Covenant
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, to formally pledge its support to members of the Armed Forces community.
The covenant recognises the Service’s commitment to ensure the fair treatment of all staff who have served, or will serve in the Armed Forces, and their families.
The covenant contains a set of commitments, including supporting employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, promoting the fact that we are an armed forces friendly organisation and working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to establish an employment pathway for people leaving the Armed Forces.
Many serving and former Armed Services personnel already work within Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, across a range of departments including both operational and support roles.
Rick Hylton, Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Signing the Armed Forces Covenant really shows how committed we are as Service to recognising the contribution that members of our Armed Forces can make to our organisation. Their skills and attributes can play a huge part in our mission to make Essex a safer place for everyone to live, work and travel.”
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner today affirmed his commitment to those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families by signing the Armed Forces Covenant.
He said: “Serving personnel, veterans and their families, deserve to be recognised and supported for the contribution they have and continue to make. We have a long and proud association with the Armed Forces in Essex and we have a responsibility to support them and recognise the value they bring to our businesses and to our county. The Covenant is not just a piece of paper, it is a declaration of my commitment to raising awareness for serving personnel, veterans and their families and supporting them to continue to play the vital role that they do in the Essex Community.”
Principles of The Armed Forces Covenant
We Essex County Fire & Rescue Service will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- 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.
- Demonstrating our Commitment
We recognise the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business and to our country. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by:
- Promoting the Armed Forces: promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces-friendly organisation, to our staff, customers, suppliers, contractors and wider public.
- Veterans: supporting the employment of veterans, recognising military skills and qualifications in our recruitment and selection process; working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to support the employment of Service leavers;
- Service Spouses & Partners: supporting the employment of Service spouses and partners; partnering with the Forces Families Jobs Forum; and providing flexibility in granting leave for Ser- vice spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment.
- Reserves: supporting our employees who are members of the Reserve Forces; granting additional paid/unpaid leave for annual Reserve Forces training; supporting any mobilisations and deployment; actively encouraging members of staff to become Reservists;
- Cadet Organisations: supporting our employees who are volunteer leaders in military cadet organisations, granting additional leave to attend annual training camps and courses; actively encouraging members of staff to become volunteer leaders in cadet organisations; supporting local military cadet units; recognising the benefits of employing cadets/ex-cadets within the workforce.
- National Events: supporting Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal Day and Remembrance activities;
- Armed Forces Charities: supporting Armed Forces charities with fundraising and supporting staff who volunteer to assist;
- Commercial Support: offering a discount to members of the Armed Forces community;
We will publicise these commitments on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.
