Charlotte shares how she is able to balance her civilian work with Network Rail and her commitment with the Army Reserve. By day, she is Associate Sponsor and an Armed Forces Lead for the company, advocating for forces friendly practices that contribute to employee development of veterans, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, reservists and military families. In her spare time, Charlotte serves as clerk for 4th Battalion, the Royal Yorkshire Regiment. Her experience in the Reserve Force contributes to her increase in confidence and resilience.
Support from forces-friendly
Network Rail is a ‘Gold’ standard on the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). This indicates the employer robustly advocates and implements policies for their employees and recruitment efforts that support the UK Armed Forces. Some of these practices include paid leave for deployment, time in lieu for military and adventurous training, charitable and community outreach that supports the Armed Forces, and more.
HR policies that count
“My employer is fantastic in terms of support for reservists as well as adult cadet instructors and as they are gold standard holders and naturally they provide two weeks paid leave for and myself as a reservist to do my annual commitment two-week training camp that also being said they offer volunteer leave whether it’s armed forces”.
“I definitely think the benefit of being a reservist has helped me so much in terms of gathering confidence. Before joining the reserves, I would genuinely would not have said I’m the same person in confidence level and and resilience level as I am today.”