Armed Forces Covenant
Sign the Armed Forces Covenant to pledge your mutual support for those who serve.
The Royal Borough’s Mayor is encouraging businesses and other organisations to sign the Armed Forces Covenant to pledge their mutual support for the armed forces community.
Councillor Neil Knowles, himself an Army veteran and the borough’s official Armed Forces Champion, is encouraging more organisations to get in touch to see how they could play their part and sign up.
The Armed Forces Covenant, a national scheme, is a pledge to acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the community, economy and society. The Royal Borough is a long-standing signatory, providing support and guidance in a number of areas, such as housing, benefits provision and employment.
In 2020, the council also achieved Gold Status under the Employer Recognition Scheme, recognising the employment-related support it gives to colleagues who are reservists and people leaving the forces who need help securing job roles or training.
Businesses and other organisations seeking to demonstrate their support for the armed forces community are invited to make a voluntary pledge under the covenant, which can be adapted to suit the organisation. This could include commitments like:
• Promoting the business as an armed forces-friendly organisation
• Aiming to actively participate in Armed Forces Day
• Supporting the employment of veterans young and old
• Supporting employees who chose to be members of the reserve forces
• Employing service spouses and partners and endeavouring to offer flexibility in granting leave related to a partner's deployment
• Offering support to local cadet units
• Offering discounts to members of the armed forces community.
There is no cost to the organisation to sign the Covenant. Interested organisations can contact Councillor Knowles personally via Cllr.Knowles@RBWM.gov.uk or the council via armed.forces@rbwm.gov.uk. Visit www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk for more about the Armed Forces Covenant. If you require further guidance about signing the Covenant, your pledge or the process, please email afcovenant@rfca.mod.uk
Councillor Knowles, who also chairs the Royal County of Berkshire Military Partnership, said: “With Windsor being the home of the Coldstream Guards and Welsh Guards, our Royal Borough has a large forces population, who contribute so much and are a valued part of our wider communities.
“Signing the Armed Forces Covenant is a great way for businesses, community groups, public bodies and other organisations to show their mutual support for our serving armed forces personnel, reservists, veterans, cadets and their families.
“The covenant is a badge of support for our armed forces community. Something as simple as providing employment support for force leavers, or guaranteeing reservists paid leave for military duties, can make a big difference.
“Having served myself in both the regular and reserved Army, and coming from a forces family, this is something I am proud to advocate, to ensure we’re working together and doing what we can as a place to be mutually supportive of our armed forces community.”