Council support for armed forces recognised
Dudley Council’s ongoing commitment and support to people who are serving, or have served in the armed forces, has been recognised with a silver award by the MOD.
The council has been given the award as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme.
The scheme encourages employers to pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to the armed forces community and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant, which Dudley Council signed up to in 2012.
As an employer, Dudley Council has numerous policies in place to support former forces personnel joining the workforce and those who are serving as volunteers.
It supports reservist employees during times of mobilisation and demobilisation, offers additional paid leave to staff who are cadet force adult volunteers and supports the employment of veterans and service leavers by offering an internal mentor to aid their transition into the civilian workforce.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said:
As a local authority we fully support and respect our armed forces personnel and are proud of our strong connections with local military organisations.
Men and women serving in the forces sacrifice a great deal and we feel it’s right that they are given the support they need when transitioning to life in the civilian workforce.
We like to celebrate and commemorate our armed forces at our annual armed forces day event, which has been running for a number of years, although sadly cancelled for the last two years due to covid.
We also hold our annual Remembrance Sunday service to honour those that have fallen, the most significant event in the civic calendar.
The council will be presented with a certificate later this year.