AFC0030

Written evidence submitted by Jamie Spice.

1. An inquiry into the success of the armed forces covenant is very much welcome. It shows political interest in improving the lives of those within the armed forces community. This written evidence is based largely on my nearly 3 years as a serving army reservist whilst being a full-time student. During this time, I have seen my colleagues struggle to liaise with employers, whilst I have had to balance student life. The central argument of this submission is there are still ways to improve how reservists interact with their employers and how university students who are a part of the armed forces community can be accommodated.

Support for Reservists in relation to their employers

2. Currently, employers are not forced to sign the Armed Forces Covenant and are also not bound by the Armed Forces Covenant Duty, which only applies to some public bodies. Employers can make pledges at their discretion when signing the Covenant, yet not all employers have signed the Covenant, and these pledges are not legally binding. Despite the Government pledging to put the Armed Forces Covenant into law, this evidence provides a range of potential options for the committee to consider.
3. There appear to be 3 potential options to improve the employer recognition of reservists and the wider armed forces community, each of varying levels of intervention.

1)      Further supporting the Armed Forces Covenant - and continuing to encourage companies to strive for gold award status within the employer recognition scheme. Introducing a financial incentive for employers who meet the gold or silver standard. 

2)      Creating a code of practice for employers, which would not be legally binding, but would allow for employers to potentially be taken to an employer’s tribunal. This would act as an alternative to putting the armed forces covenant fully into law. Companies would still be encouraged to sign the armed forces covenant.

3)      Extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to all employers and creating a set of mandatory requirements that they must uphold. This would be alongside any wider Government changes to the Armed Forces Covenant including their pledge to put the Armed [1]Forces Covenant into law.
 

4. Option 1 would make the job of those who represent the Government easier when trying to convince companies to improve their commitments to the armed forces community. Option 2 does threaten some action and would codify areas in which employers could support reservists no matter if they have signed the Armed Forces Covenant. Option 3 would require the greatest commitment but would have the largest effect on the armed forces community. Option A could still be utilised alongside either option 2 or 3.

5. Option 3 suggests an extension of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty. The Armed Forces Covenant Duty is not currently prescriptive in how bodies should carry out their legal duty, which does suit the varying nature of how public services are delivered. Instead, public services must have due regard for the legal obligations laid out1. However, within an employment setting, there is an opportunity to also include detailed mandatory requirements that would make the duty more executable and accountable in all areas of the armed forces' lives, not just public services. Potential mandatory requirements for employers should be in a variety of areas and not only concerning reservists. This would require consultation to ascertain where legal duties would be most useful.

6. Drawing on my experience as a reservist, there are some provisions that could be applied to any of the options provided, however, these are also examples of mandatory requirements that could be made as a part of option 3. A large part of being a Reservist is being able to liaise with one's employer to secure the necessary time off to conduct training. Therefore, the following would be beneficial for reservists, ensuring they can remain competent and deployable despite any difficulties caused by either the nature of their job or a lack of employer flexibility. 

a)      10 days of unpaid leave for all reservists to complete the length of the Annual Continuous Training (ACT) required for all three services - A leading factor for the retention of reservists is the Annual Training bounty2. Making it easier for reservists to attend ACTs without having to use their annual leave, will improve retention and improve the standard of training for reservists who would otherwise be unable to attend. Gold award holders of the employer recognition scheme already provide at least 10 days of paid leave.

b)      Employers should accommodate reservists' requests for annual leave or exemption from rotas, for military events when requests more than six months in advance. An employer would only be able to deny this 3 times within 12 months. This allows flexibility for employees to gain the necessary training days to achieve their bounty and could encourage more people to join the reserves where this may be an issue.             

7. It is ultimately the decision of the Committee and the Government to decide how strong any pledged legislation that would bring the armed forces covenant into law is. This legislation could be of varying strength, ranging from only passing the principles of the Covenant into law, all the way to obligating all employers to be of a ‘gold award standard’. Therefore, the committee should consider how the 3 options and proposed provisions within this evidence could supplement any bills that bring the armed forces covenant into law.

Support for University students that are Reservists

8. Through my experience as a full-time student and an Army Reservist, I have found universities lack the necessary encouragement from the Government to support students who may be reservists. Whilst this may not be a priority area, the committee should still consider this an area of improvement.

9. Universities hold thousands of reservists, and regular members of the armed forces will be studying for full-time degrees whilst also being regular members of the armed forces. Many Universities are not signed up to the armed forces covenant, and those that do, only focus on university employees excluding Students. Despite full-time students not being paid employees of a university, studying is their full-time occupation, and so Universities should be implored to sign the Covenant just the same as any other employer.

10. University students who are members of the armed forces community should feel as though they are in a positive environment. Many student Reservists will have great career prospects but may not wish to conduct regular military service. Therefore, their skills in areas such as engineering and business leadership should be utilised, adding value to the regular parts of the military. Increasing the number of those tolerant of the military within universities increases the chances of the next generation of employers becoming more understanding of military commitments. Ways in which this can be achieved are:

11. Universities will often provide extenuating circumstances for late assignments, for reasons such as illness or Jury Duty. Yet many do not do so for military service as this is not a legal duty, creating a disadvantage to those students and perhaps discouraging some students from joining the reserves for time management reasons. Therefore, the committee could look to recommend this with any changes to the Armed Forces Covenant.

12. The Council of Military Education Committees of the Universities of the United Kingdom (COMEC) could be given greater scope to represent the entire armed forces community within universities, not just officer training establishments. COMEC would monitor how Universities maintain their commitments alongside any more general changes to the Armed Forces Covenant.

23rd January 2025