Trust receives highest level of award from Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
The Trust is proud to announce it has received the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award – the highest level of award offered by the scheme.
193 organisations have been awarded the Gold Award 2023 and within the South East region the Trust is one of just 19 organisations to receive the award.
The ERS encourages employers to support defence and inspire others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Bridget O’Kelly, Chief People Officer for the Trust said, “It’s fantastic to share the news that we have achieved the ERS Gold Award. As a Trust we are committed to supporting our Armed Forces community and as an employer, we recognise the invaluable skills and experience these individuals can bring to the workplace.”
As a Gold Award holder the Trust has undertaken the following commitments:
- signed the Armed Forces Covenant
- employers must have an existing relationship with their National Account Manager/REED/appropriate defence representative
- the employer must already be demonstrating support by holding a valid ERS Silver Award.
- the employer must proactively demonstrate their forces-friendly credentials as part of their recruiting and selection processes. Where possible, they should be engaged with Career Transition Partnership (CTP) in the recruitment of service leavers and have registered for the Forces Families Jobs (FFJ) portal
- the employer must actively ensure that their workforce is aware of their positive policies towards defence people issues. For example, an employer nominated for support to the Reserves must have an internally publicised and positive human resources policy on Reserves
- the employer must be an exemplar within their market sector, advocating support to defence people issues to partner organisations, suppliers and customers with tangible positive results
- within the context of Reserves the employer must have demonstrated support to mobilisations or have a framework in place. They must provide at least 10 days’ additional leave for training, fully paid, to the Reservist employee
- the employer must actively encourage a positive environment for Reservists by ensuring that positive policies in support of Reservists within the workforce are communicated to line managers