Staff Survey: Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans

Armed Forces Veteran Badge

Are you a member of the armed forces, reserve forces or a veteran? Or are you a spouse or family member of someone who is or has served?

As part of our commitment to providing support for armed forces personnel, reservists and veterans we are asking staff to tell us about their armed forces status.

By knowing who are serving or former members of (or family members of) the armed forces in our workforce we can make sure you are fully supported to combine your work at HBC with your armed forces role.

We want to make sure that anyone linked to the armed forces working for HBC is made aware of the support that is available to them and has the opportunity to take it up as required. It would really help us to do this if armed forces personnel and veterans working for us could tell us who you are. We can then contact you for an informal chat about the support options available (some examples are provided below).

To tell us about your link to the armed forces please complete this short form.

The information you provide will be held securely and used by the Armed Forces Covenant team to help identify and support employees who are armed forces personnel, reservists and veterans and their families.

Examples of support available

Workforce support available includes:

• Guaranteed interview for any veteran applicants that meet the criteria for any HBC job
• 10 days additional paid leave for reservist employees
• Advice on actions required prior to deployment and upon demobilisation, with information on pensions, pay, childcare and keep-in-touch days
• Recognition of the challenges that reservists face during deployment and the importance of providing effective support upon their return
• Option to join a workplace group to get to know other personnel and veterans within the Council and help promote armed forces issues at work

We can also support you in other ways, including:

• Helping you to find and register with a GP
• Helping you get a Veterans Card (this can be used to quickly and easily prove your veteran status when accessing services)
• Ensuring that you are getting any benefits that you are entitled to and that any War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments are being disregarded when calculating your entitlements
• Link you up with local veterans / personnel support groups which provide specialist emotional, financial and practical support
• Ensuring that you and your family / children are prioritised for social housing and school allocations where needed
• Extending the "Get Hartlepool Active" card concession for residents serving in the armed forces and veterans so you can use Council-run sports and fitness facilities in Hartlepool at a discounted rate

Links to external information and support websites can be found on this page.