Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
On Thursday, 9th January 2014, Fujitsu signed the Ministry of Defence Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. The Armed Forces Corporate Covenant sets out the moral obligations of society towards members of the armed forces community and by signing, Fujitsu has pledged to support the British Armed Forces, by upholding these key principles.
The Covenant was co-signed by Duncan Tait, Chief Executive Officer Fujitsu UK & Ireland and Lieutenant General Andrew Gregory CB, Chief of Defence Personnel at an official ceremony held ahead of the Army Sailing Associations Admirals Dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club in London.
Duncan Tait said: “As an organisation that has a proud history of not only supplying products and services to the MoD but also employing many citizens who form part of the voluntary reserve forces, Fujitsu recognises the invaluable contribution these individuals make to our community and our business. We also recognise that those individuals, previously employed by the Armed Forces, can contribute a wealth of transferable skills and experience and that it is therefore important for us as a business to support their integration into the civilian workforce in any way we can. We hope by signing the Corporate Covenant and committing to its principles, that we will encourage others to do the same.”
As an organisation, Fujitsu has formally introduced a number of policies and initiatives to better support reserve personnel, veterans, and their families, including:
- Up to two week’s paid leave per annum to attend annual training, which is a condition of membership
- A leave policy and ‘Your Choices’ approach that support flexible leave requests from all employees combined with the fact that ex-Armed Forces employees can request up to a maximum period of two additional weeks unpaid leave for services training
- Setting up a collaboration site for our ex-Armed Forces personnel and entitling them to use the Employee Assistance Programme services
- A partnership with the Career Transition Partnership, which will assess any gaps the company faces and potentially point out how these can be addressed by employing ex-Armed Forces personnel
- Setting up a recruitment process that recognises Armed Forces skills and qualifications when interviewing for new positions.
Glen Hymers, a former serving member and now Reserve Member of the Armed Forces who is employed by Fujitsu as Head of Operational Security and Risk Management, commented: “As a former serving member of the Armed Forces, I appreciate and admire the huge commitment Fujitsu is making in support of the Corporate Covenant. As a company, it truly understands the obstacles faced by many reservists and family members of those in active duty – and endeavours to meet the needs of individuals within this group of employees by recognising their valuable contributions.”
Read more about the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
here.