As has been reported widely in the press, a range of measures announced last week as part of an MOD White Paper are designed to encourage more employers to recruit Reservists and support those already in their employ, in return for better levels of compensation, improved communications and official recognition of their support. This will all be achieved through the development of open and predictable relationships between Defence and employers.

The proposals are in part inspired by the results of a recent consultation, which showed that small employers in particular, felt current arrangements can be cumbersome. For them, the announcement has brought good news.

SMEs (those with less than 250 employees) will be given £500 each month while their employees are away on a period of mobilisation and the introduction of a new simplified system of claiming back financial assistance to cover other costs incurred by the employer will make claiming for these costs easier.

In future, employers will be notified well in advance of upcoming training events and mobilisations which will help both employer and Reservist to plan. The appeals process means that it won’t all be one way, and that employers will be able to apply to defer a mobilisation should a deployment come at an unsuitable time.

Other support materials to employers will be overhauled and made more suited to the needs of employers who want to better understand the full range of skills and experience that Reservists bring back to the work place. 

This information should prove to be quite effective, as research by SaBRE and endorsed by the Chartered Management Institute, found that an employer would have to purchase over £8,000 of commercial civilian training to provide the same amount of development that an average Reservist’s military service provides in a year (this research relates only to the skills that are relevant to the civilian workplace).

And for those employers who would like their support to be formally recognised, a new scheme will allow them to make a voluntary statement of support in exchange for a certificate and other materials to promote their commitment on company letterheads and websites.

These are just some of the initiatives stemming from the White Paper. Once in place, they could make the difference between employers wanting to support their Reservist employees and being able to do so.

The thrust of the proposals show that there are clear mutual benefits and that while employers are just one of the many stakeholders, they should nevertheless be seen as indispensable to the efforts to boost trained Reserve numbers from 18,000 to 30,000 by 2018.  It would be helpful to hear your views as HR professionals and employers on whether you think these measures will be sufficient in enabling enough employer support for the Government to reach its targets.

For more information on the employment of reservists see: www.sabre.mod.uk.