Plymouth Argyle Football Co 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 Plymouth Argyle Football Co 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 Plymouth Argyle Football Co 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 Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Discounts
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation: - Publicise Covenant commitments and logo on our website and through our social media. - Continue to play an active role in Plymouth City Council’s Covenant working group. - Continue to dedicate one match per season as a celebration of the armed services in the south west. This event is now in it’s 10th year and aims to recognise the valuable contribution of service personnel, their families and veterans to the local area and beyond. Seeking to support the employment of veterans young and old and working with the CTP in order to establish a tailored employment pathway for service leavers: - Value the skills and qualifications of service leavers when interviewing for positions. - Recognise the value of Leadership, Management, and other transferrable skills gained in the Military, and how these skills can be used in the Club’s pursuit of excellence as described in the Club’s Values statement. - Welcome applications from service leavers for temporary work placements and permanent roles. - Engage with service charities and organisations such as Help for Heroes to support as far as possible, employment opportunities for Wounded, Injured or Sick (WIS) veterans. Striving to support the employment of Service spouses and partners: - Invite to interview Service spouse applicants who meet the selection criteria in a job application. Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leaver for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partner’s deployment. - Sympathetically review requests for holidays before, during or after a partner’s overseas deployment, when the service person has leave to spend with their family. - Give special consideration to employees who are bereaved or whose spouse/partner is injured or experiencing mental health problems. Seeking to support our employees who choose to be member of the Reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible; - Accommodate reservists training commitments wherever possible. - If at all possible, accommodate the mobilisation of reservists if they are required to deploy. Offering support to our local cadet units, either in our local community or in local schools, where possible; - Continue to engage with all local cadet units and involve them in the annual Armed Services Day. Aiming to actively participate in Armed Forces Day; - Through our links with local armed forces charities, have a visible presence at Armed Forces Day. Offering a discount to members of the Armed Forces Community; - Continue to offer discounted season and match-day tickets to service personnel. - Invite a significant number of serving personnel, veterans and their families to be guests of club at the annual Armed Services Day match. - Provide complimentary tickets for use of personnel visiting Plymouth on ships and submarines. Encouraging engagement: - In order to foster closer relationships, encourage all club officials to engage with their military counterparts. This could lead to the sharing of facilities, exchange of best practise, or other mutually beneficial activities.
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.