Support for armed forces (Armed Forces Network)

We recognise the value that the armed forces community (serving personnel both regular and reservists, veterans, spouses, partners, and military families) makes to the council. As part of its support for the armed forces community we welcome all armed forces community members to join the Armed Forces Network.  

The network is an employee-led safe space to share experiences, seek and offer guidance.

Membership 

As a member of the Armed Forces Network, you will be able to: 

• meet and share experiences with colleagues across the organisation 
• engage with senior leaders 
• access opportunities and resources to support you 
• talk openly and honestly 
• help the council develop its commitment and support to the armed forces community 

Join

You can join via our Armed Forces Network Teams site. 

Support for the armed forces community

The council is committed to the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a voluntary commitment that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

We are proud to hold the gold standard award from the ministry of defence in national recognition of our commitment to support the armed forces community through our employment practices.

​How we can support you​

​The council offers a range of support options, including:

• a guaranteed interview scheme for all veterans and service leavers that meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying
• reservists leave of up to 2 weeks additional paid leave to take part in training
• volunteering days that can be used to support activities such as adult volunteers with the Army Cadets or volunteering for the Soldiers', Sailors' & Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA)
• continuous employment rights for reservists called into full-time service to serve alongside the regular armed forces on operations, including the option to remain a member of their pension scheme (called LGPS) while on operations. To make arrangements for this employees should contact People Support on the Assyst portal. who will calculate the payments required from both the employee and Ministry of Defence for the duration of the service
• a dedicated employee network for employees from the armed forces community
• onboarding support for those new to working at the council and those who need to re-familiarise themselves with our ways of working after deployment
• support is available from our Employee Assistance Programme, including counselling and advice and support for whatever issues you might be facing such as work stress, depression, marriage and relationship issues, legal concerns, coping with change, parenting issues, financial problems and other everyday matters
• additionally the NHS offers a mental health and wellbeing service for veterans, service leavers and reservists
• there are a number of options to work flexibly to help balance family and other commitments (subject to business needs)
• a wide range of employee benefits including travel, retail, and leisure discounts, the ability to purchase additional holiday and financial wellbeing support

Help and advice across all aspects of life can also be found on the veterans gateway and SSAFA.  The zero suicide alliance and Help the Heroes have a free online course on suicide awareness for veterans, their family members and friends.

If you have a specific query about the support available for employees who are members of the armed forces community you can contact People Support by logging your query in the Assyst portal.