BT Group
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 BT Group 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 BT Group 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:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- Flexible Leave For Spouses
- UK Reservists
- UK Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Armed Forces Charities
- UK Wounded, Injured And Sick
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces friendly organisation, and that our customers, partners, suppliers, employees and shareholders understand our support for the Armed Forces community and their families; Aiming to maintain our position as the UK’s largest employer of Armed Forces veterans, by working with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and similar organisations. We support employment of UK veterans, service spouses and partners and welcome applications from all sections of the community; Actively supporting the transition of UK Service Leavers, veterans and their spouses / partners to civilian employment through our Transition Force programme; Continuing to endeavour to offer, where possible, a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners of UK employees before, during and after a partner’s deployment; Continuing to encourage volunteering activities by our employees, including engagement with and/or fund raising for registered Armed Forces charities; Actively promoting our commission-free MyDonate donations platform to Armed Forces charities; Actively participating in UK Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day and Armistice / Remembrance; Seeking to support our UK employees who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces, including granting up to two weeks’ special paid leave for annual training, and accommodating deployment consistent with our existing policies; Continuing our more specific support and commitment to 81 Signal Squadron, a specialist Army Reserve communications unit, in particular continuing to recognise transferrable skills, qualifications and undertake joint training; Offering support to our local UK cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools where possible; Supporting our adult cadet force volunteers and instructors, including granting up to five days annual special paid leave to attend training courses; Supporting, where appropriate, the recovery of wounded, injured and sick Service personnel through provision of work experience and work shadow placements, career and job finding support, through relationships with the MOD’s Personnel Recovery Centres, Personnel Recovery Units and CTP Assist; Seeking to support all BT employees who have links with, or an interest in, the armed forces through the BT Armed Forces Network.
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.