Samson Autonomous
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, His 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 Samson Autonomous 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 Samson Autonomous 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
- Additional Leave For Reservists
We also pledge the following:
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Supporting mobilisation: We will positively support employees who are mobilised for military service and will work with them to facilitate their release, maintain appropriate contact during mobilisation, and support their return to employment following completion of Service.
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Recognising military skills and qualifications: We will seek to recognise relevant military qualifications, training, leadership experience and technical competence when recruiting and developing employees, and will avoid unnecessarily requiring civilian equivalents where military experience demonstrates the required capability.
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We will publicise our commitments to the Armed Forces Community through our website, recruitment materials, internal communications and other appropriate company literature. We will clearly set out the practical measures we have committed to, including our support for veterans, Service leavers, Reservists and members of the wider Armed Forces Community.
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We will seek to ensure that these commitments are reflected in practice across our recruitment, employment and people-management processes, and that relevant managers and employees understand the support available.
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We will actively invite feedback from employees, members of the Armed Forces Community, applicants, customers and other stakeholders on how effectively we are meeting our commitments. Where appropriate, we will use this feedback to review and improve our policies and the practical support we provide.
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We will periodically review our Armed Forces Covenant commitments to ensure they remain meaningful, achievable and relevant as the organisation grows, and will update or expand our pledges where we identify opportunities to provide further support to the Armed Forces Community.
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Where appropriate, we will also share examples of our support for the Armed Forces Community and encourage engagement with Defence and Armed Forces initiatives across the organisation.
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.