Recognition for our commitment to Armed Forces

We’re proud to have been recognised as a leading employer for our commitment to supporting the armed forces community, gaining the prestigious Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme silver award.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise made by government, businesses, local authorities, charities and the public to help ensure that people who are serving, or who have previously served, in the armed forces are treated fairly.

We signed the covenant in February 2020, achieved bronze level recognition in April, and have now been awarded silver level accreditation for providing tangible support for the armed forces community and meeting the specific criteria laid down by the Employer Recognition Scheme.

Some of the many actions we’ve introduced so far have included:

• The offer of up to two weeks unpaid leave to reservist employees for annual training commitments
• Allowing mobilised reservists to take a career break of up to six months without having to meet the usual three-year service qualifying criteria for a sabbatical
• The active encouragement of veterans, service leavers or reservists to apply for vacancies, with a guarantee that if they meet the essential criteria on the person specification they will be invited to the selection process or interview
• Advertising all roles on the Forces Career Transition Partnership portal and the Forces Families Jobs website to encourage them to apply.

Catherine Clennett, Beyond Housing Head of Human Resources, said: “We are very pleased to receive this valued recognition of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. We have achieved a great deal in the initiatives that we have so far brought into play but we are looking forward to further developing our contribution in a number of directions, including using our influence and encouraging our partners to join us in this very worthwhile scheme.”