Legislation introduced last year (the Defence Reform Act 2014) makes it easier for reservists in the armed forces to be ‘mobilised’ from their civilian jobs into a wider variety of military roles. What does this mean for UK employers? How are small business affected?
At Clickdocs, we’re proud to have a member of the Royal Air Force Reserves in our team. We have first-hand experience of what deployment means to us as a business, and to our team member. And we think it’s a great thing.
If you aren’t familiar with how the reserve forces operate then the idea of working with someone who may be ‘called up’ at any time may seem daunting. It’s not like that. It’s not like being drafted when a country is at war.
Many reservists work in units where mobilisation is carefully managed. The reservist may often have a say in when and what type of mobilisation he or she would prefer. The Defence Reform Act has made it easier for the MoD to use reservists in ‘back fill’ positions. This means that reservists can be used to fill in for regular forces personnel who have been, for example, posted overseas. So, many mobilisations may actually be jobs within the UK. Of course, this depends on what skills and role a particular reservists is qualified to fill.
Some mobilisations may not suit your business and you do have the right, as an employer, to ask for an exemption if releasing your staff member for mobilisation would seriously damage your business.
Our reservist employee has been mobilised several times: once for a 6 month period overseas and for others shorter periods within the UK. None of these mobilisations came as a surprise and we all had plenty of time to prepare for his absence. As an employer we received financial assistance to make up for his absence from work. Admittedly, there was quite a bit of paperwork to do to make sure we received the right allowances, and a few frustrations with some of the red-tape involved. But we got it all sorted.
Shorter mobilisations are pretty straightforward to handle as a business. For us, the impact is no greater than someone going on holiday for a couple of weeks. We re-arrange the workload, make sure there are no outstanding issues and do a bit of MoD (Ministry of Defence) paperwork.
Reservists also have to do a 2 week ‘camp’ once a year, and need the odd day here and there to do other local exercises. Again, we handle it just as a normal absence.
What do we get in return? Well, we’re generally not out of pocket. That’s a fairly tangible thing. It’s hard to quantify some of the other benefits. SaBRE (Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers – part of the MoD) emphasise the value of training given to reserve forces personnel. There’s certainly an element of that: some of the leadership courses and challenges are things that we, as a small business, just can’t offer. Our reservist is an experienced manager so training in skills such as presentation and public speaking were nothing new to him. But there were plenty of other exercise which have really stretched him.
It may be a bit unfashionable, but we’re quietly pleased to be making a small act of patriotism by being a supportive employer. Whether or not you agree with the situations in which our armed forces are involved, it’s hard not to admire the dedication and professionalism of those who serve. And especially so for those who volunteer to don a military uniform in their spare time.
We’re happy to continue supporting our RAF reservist and it’s always a pleasure to have him return full of enthusiasm, focus and energy. Later this summer he will be involved in an outdoor exercise with the ‘regulars’ and may mobilise early next year to a UK based job. No doubt there will plenty of interesting stories to tell and we look forward to hearing them.
If you want more information about employing reservists you can read our 6 Things Employers Should Know factsheet or visit the SaBRE website. We also offer a free Reservists Policy which you can download and add to your staff handbook.
The post Employing a Reservist: Our Experience appeared first on Clickdocs Blog.