GovData Ltd
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 GovData Ltd 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 GovData Ltd 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
- Armed Forces Day
We also pledge the following:
-We will amend our job advertising for new staff to reflect the fact that we are an armed forces positive employer. We will also encourage through internal routes the employment of ex forces personnel through colleagues already recruited from the services -Our HR department are now engaging directly with the CTP to explore areas where we can seek new employees from the veteran community. We already employ several vets who by prior training have positive attributes that lend themselves well to this environment and activity. This will now be positively encouraged by our board and senior leadership -GovData are open to new ways of working and this extends to our approach to recruitment. Wherever our network and knowledge of customers and partners crosses paths with the skills, background and aspirations of our employees, their spouses, partners and/or close relatives we will endeavour to do our best to support their employment both directly and elsewhere - Our holiday management HR system already prioritises not only military personnel by also any other career choice where partners and children incur long spells of remote working -All staff are invited to existing events held locally, usually by the freemasons in our HQ location in Warrington. Ex services personnel are also granted leave on this day as well on the 11th November if requested. This does not come out of their annual entitlement, but it is treated as exemplary/compassionate leave as a nod to recognise their past endeavours and allow them contemplation time -GovData Ltd will also commit to offering all our ex services staff additional support and training and to engage with the CTP functions of the MOD to better understand how we can assist in the oft challenging transition to civvy street. We will support them as they adapt to their new working and social environments. -From experience, it may be that a transition plan is required for those with greater lengths service or particularly intensive experiences during their tours. This would form a part of the social and personnel development aspects of those who feel they want to explore those areas in more depth
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.