Bottles Worcester Limited
We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.
The Armed Forces Covenant
An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families
The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.
Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.
Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
1.1 We Bottles Worcester Limited 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;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment
2.1 Bottles Worcester Limited recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Reservists
- UK Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the Armed Forces: we will continue to strive to offer fair employment opportunities to the Armed Forces community and will promote careers available within the organisation, making sure it is clear the Veteran personnel will not be discriminated against. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: we will continue to support Armed Forces, or Veteran personnel employed by the organisation through ensuring an unbias and discrimination free recruitment process. We will offer reservists additional days leave (paid or unpaid) to ensure that they can carry out their duties. Communications, engagement and outreach: we will, wherever possible, support and engage with local cadet force, reservist or military charities to promote wider outreach within the armed forces community. We will actively strive to hold Armed Forces events, such as Armed Forces Day/Week, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance activities in both our bar and shop. Health: we will commit to ensuring that all Veterans or other Armed Forces personnel within the organisation are aware of the initiative available to support their ongoing health, both physical and mental. We will raise awareness on the importance of maintaining good mental health and promote advice on how to do this. Education: we will commit to providing ongoing continuous professional development to Veterans, inline with business needs. We will also educate all nonarmed forces personnel within the organisation on the unique value and contribution of our Armed Forces employees. Cadet Forces: we identify the advantages of also employing cadet force adult volunteers (CFAV) and support flexible working to ensure that both CFAV and reservist staff can meet their training commitments.
2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or 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.