Flintshire Council awarded ‘Gold’ for ‘outstanding support’ to local armed forces community

Flintshire County Council has achieved the Gold Award from the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme.

The Gold Award represents the highest honour in the scheme.

The council is one of 100 employers, and one of only 23 local authorities, in the UK being recognised by Defence Minister Ben Wallace for their outstanding support for the Armed Forces community by being awarded an Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award.  

The Award will be presented on 12 November 2019 at the National Army Museum in London.

To achieve the Gold Award employers must proactively demonstrate that the Armed Forces Community are not unfairly disadvantaged in the workplace.  

The Armed Forces Community includes reservists, veterans and their families.

Councillor Andrew Dunbobbin, Flintshire County Council Armed Forces Champion said:

“We are delighted and proud to have achieved the Gold Award in recognition of the Council’s commitment to supporting veterans, reservists and the Armed Forces community. It is a great honour to be seen as an exemplar employer.

“We have introduced policies to support the Armed Forces community including serving Reservists and Cadet leaders. 

We recognise the value of supporting employees from a military background. The experience, knowledge and skills veterans and reservists gain from the military and bring to the Council is immense.

“We will continue to honour our commitments in the Armed Forces Covenant, ensuring the Armed Forces community are not disadvantaged.”

The Covenant is a commitment from the nation that members of the Armed Forces community should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of services and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most.