Fighting With Pride
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 Fighting With Pride 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 Fighting With Pride 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
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the Armed Forces: promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces friendly organisation, to our staff, service users, partners and other organisations we engage with, in addition to the wider general public. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: Veterans. supporting the employment of veterans, recognising military skills and qualifications in our recruitment and selection process; working with the Career Transition Partnership to support the employment of Service leavers. Service Spouses & Partners. supporting the employment of Service spouses and partners; and providing flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment. Reserves. supporting our employees who are members of the Reserve Forces; granting additional paid/unpaid leave for annual Reserve Forces training; supporting any mobilisations and deployment; actively encouraging our staff to become Reservists. Cadet Organisations. supporting our employees who are volunteer leaders in military cadet organisations, granting additional leave to attend annual training camps and courses; actively encouraging members of staff to become volunteer leaders in cadet organisations; and supporting local military cadet units. Promoting Diversity, Inclusion and Equality: as a trusted and respected LGBT + military charity that has lived experience and knowledge of the challenges and issues that face LGBT+ Veterans, promoting diversity, inclusion and equality are core values for our organisation and staff. Fighting With Pride is a leading proponent actively engaged in establishing and maintaining LGBT+ Veteran standards and will; Promote and support the Armed Forces ‘A Force for Good’, the Defence diversity and inclusion strategy 2018 to 2030. Establish our own Pride in Veterans Standards (PiVS) programme, which will be open to any organisation that wishes to visibly demonstrate its commitment to providing inclusive and welcoming support to LGBT + Veterans, serving personnel and their families. Represent and provide a LGBT+ Veteran military presence during PRIDE Month and at PRIDE events across the country as a celebration of Armed Forces’ diversity, inclusion and equality. Health and healthcare: Dedicated Healthcare services. for members of the Armed Forces Community, such as Op COURAGE in England, are signposted and promoted. Veteran Aware and Veteran Friendly. to raise awareness of NHS Hospital Trusts acknowledged as Veteran Aware and GP Practices registered as Veteran Friendly. Community Wellbeing. to develop, provide and support our own programme of community building activities that support LGBT+ Veteran wellbeing. Advocacy and Representation: to be an active partner in advocating and supporting the LGBT Veteran Independent Review and support LGBT + Veterans through the review process. To support and represent the LGBT + Veteran’s voice to specialist groups, such as the Veterans Advisory Board and through the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. Research and Education: to participate in national educational study programmes concerned with LGBT+ Veteran research. National Events: supporting Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal Day and Remembrance activities. We will demonstrate commitment by assisting LGBT + Veterans to participate in the National Cenotaph Remembrance Parade and March Past on Remembrance Sunday; Armed Forces Charities: supporting Armed Forces charities with fundraising and supporting staff who volunteer to assist.
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.