Royal Mail signs up to Armed Forces Covenant

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Royal Mail signs up to Armed Forces Covenant to show its support for the UK’s armed forces community

http://www.royalmailgroup.com/royal-mai ... -community" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Royal Mail has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to support the armed forces community in the UK
Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene signed the corporate covenant with The Secretary State of Defence Rt.Hon. Michael Fallon MP, in front of Royal Mail reservists at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre in London
Royal Mail recognises the value that serving regular and reservist personnel, veterans and military families contribute to its business and the UK
Royal Mail is an armed forces-friendly organisation actively championing its reservists and their activities
Royal Mail has around 250 reservists and in the last year employed 70 ex-servicemen and women in a variety of roles within its business
Royal Mail helps to provide the essential British Forces Post Office service to armed forces stationed around the world


Royal Mail has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to support the armed forces community in the UK.

The new corporate covenant marks Royal Mail’s recognition of the value that serving regular and reservist personnel, veterans and military families contribute to its business and to the UK. The company will aim to offer employment where possible to ex-servicemen and women, and support its reservists. Royal Mail also honours the military through the issue of Special Stamps and postmarks.

Royal Mail Chief Executive, Moya Greene, signed the corporate covenant with Secretary of State for Defence, Right Hon. Michael Fallon MP at Mount Pleasant Mail Centre in North London on Tuesday (July 28). They were joined by Royal Mail reservists.

Moya Greene said: “Royal Mail is pleased to be signing the Armed Forces Covenant and we are proud to be an armed forces-friendly company. There has been a close link between Britain’s postal service and the military for nearly 200 years. Many current Royal Mail employees are ex-servicemen and women or reservists, and have played - and continue to play - a key role in keeping the UK safe. They also play a fundamental part in delivering Royal Mail’s high quality service to homes and businesses across the country.

“We believe it is important that Royal Mail continues to support them both within and outside of our business.”

Michael Fallon said: “Having such a large, British institution putting its name to the covenant underlines the deep commitment within the business community to better support those who have bravely served their country, and for their families.

“With more than 600 companies now having signed up, businesses all over the UK are recognising the benefits and skills that reservists and former service personnel can bring to the civilian workforce.”

Royal Mail has around 250 reservists in the company and in the last year has employed over 70 ex-armed forces personnel in a variety of roles throughout the country. Royal Mail played a key part in developing virtual postcodes for the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) postal addresses overseas, so that service personnel can enter a recognisable delivery point when they access online goods and services while stationed around the world. It will continue to work with the MOD to make it easier for companies to access postcode data for armed forces personnel.

As part of the corporate covenant, Royal Mail will promote the fact that it is an armed forces-friendly organisation actively championing our reservists and their activities.

Royal Mail will also:

Encourage partner organisations and suppliers to join the corporate covenant scheme
Promote the fact that we are an armed forces-friendly organisation by publishing our covenant in our depots, branches and offices
Continue to honour our armed forces through the issue of Special Stamps and postmarks
Aim to actively participate in Armed Forces Day and Reserves Day
Work with the Career Transition Partnership to look for opportunities of employment for veterans and service leavers within Royal Mail
Engage with the Recovery Career Services to support, as far as is practicable, employment opportunities for wounded, injured or sick veterans
Take into account the military commitments of a spouse of a member of the armed forces when reviewing requests for leave
Continue to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and mobilisation
Continue to work with Ministry of Defence to make it easier for companies to get effective BFPO virtual postcode data to enable the armed forces community to access goods and services online while overseas.


ends

Background on Armed Forces Covenant
The Corporate Covenant was launched in 2013 and includes a core statement of commitment to the two key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant: that no member of the Armed Forces community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen; and that in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured or bereaved. Other UK companies such as Tesco, BT and National Grid have also signed up to the Covenant.

Royal Mail Group and the Military
The tradition of Royal Mail Group employees providing service to monarch and country stretches back to 1816 when Post Office volunteers went to Paris to assist British Forces with communications following the defeat of Napoleon, which was then followed by service in the Crimean War.

In 1867 a 1000 strong regiment was formed as the 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. Volunteers to this regiment then saw action in numerous campaigns such as Egypt, Sudan, Khartoum and the Boer War. The 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers in time became the Army Post Office Corps and by the First World War they were badged as the Post Office Rifles. It is in this guise they are historically best known and recognised for their contribution. A more detailed history of the ‘Post Office at War’ can be found by following the link to the British Postal and Museum[.
Today, the Volunteer Reserve Forces are made up of the Maritime Reserve (Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Marines Reserve); the Army Reserve and the Royal Air Force Reserves.