North Lincolnshire Council has been awarded the Gold standard under the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme, the highest national accolade for its support for Britain’s Armed Forces.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said:
“The Gold standard is a significant achievement and we are truly delighted to receive this national accolade – less than a year after receiving the Silver standard.
“We are fully committed to ensuring we support our Armed Forces and we have fair policies and procedures in place to support those who serve in the military as well as veterans and their families.
“Despite achieving the highest accolade, this will not dampen our efforts and commitment to supporting our employers who are part of the Armed Forces community.”
The Employee Recognition Scheme Gold Awards are the highest badge of honour for employers who support those who serve, veterans and their families – typically by putting in place employment practices that support reservists to train and mobilise and veterans to transition to civilian life.
Employers have won awards for initiatives such as supporting ex-serving personnel transitioning out of the military, armed forces staff networks and flexibility for reservists and cadet force adult instructors.
The council has a number of reservists and cadet force adult volunteers among its employees. It gives reservists ten days extra annual paid leave to enable them to take part in mandatory training camps that ensure they are combat-ready.
Cadet force adult volunteers are also able to take ten days paid leave to cover their annual two-week cadet camps.
Major Damian Hardy, officer commanding at 146 Divisional Support Company based at Budd VC Barracks in Scunthorpe said:
“Achieving this award is very special as it affirms the continued work North Lincolnshire Council do to support our military community and our ex-service personnel who make the county their home.
“Our reserve soldiers come from all walks of life, working for businesses and organisations both large and small. The commitment and time given by our reserve soldiers is second to none, furthermore the support and gratitude demonstrated by North Lincolnshire Council is exceptional.”
The award comes as part of the council’s ongoing commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant which was re-signed in 2018 by the council and its partners. The Covenant’s aim, to ensure that the Armed Forces community in North Lincolnshire face no disadvantage for having served their country.
The Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA) Yorkshire and the Humber run the Employer Recognition scheme on behalf of the Ministry of Defence in the region.
