Rail Fleet Services 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 Rail Fleet Services 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 Rail Fleet Services 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:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- UK Reservists
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Discounts
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:
Promoting the Armed Forces: We are a Veteran Reservist owned business, and we will promote Britains Armed Forces where possible. We will proudly publicise our Armed Forces Covenant commitments through our website. We will proudly display the Armed Forces Covenant logo on our email signature. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: We will support our Reservists by providing an additional 5 days paid leave to support attendance at their annual training camp. We will accommodate our Reservists training commitments wherever possible. We will accommodate and support mobilisation if our Reservists are required to deploy anywhere. We will guarantee job interviews to veterans and reservists if they meet the selection criteria laid out in a job advert/description. We will support service leavers with advice on how to transition into the rail industry upon completion of service. Communications, engagement and outreach: We will support Armed Forces Week, Reserves Day and Remembrance. Examples include a free to enter raffle for all those serving and veterans to win a £50 gift card of their choice. This is a small thank from us for their service. We will support Armed Forces Week, Reserves Day and Remembrance with attendance at local events where possible. We will support Armed Forces Week, Reserves Day and Remembrance with communications through our usual communication channels. Commercial: We will consider appropriately talented and skilled veteran, spouse or reservist owned SME businesses when making purchases. We will guarantee veteran, spouse or reservist owned businesses in our procurement processes if they meet the minimum selection criteria laid out in the tendering process. We will support veteran, spouse or reservist owned businesses with sponsorship and/or charitable donations if they meet the criteria of our Social Responsibility policy where possible.
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.