Armed Forces Covenant

The University of the West of England has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to show its support for HM Armed Forces community.

The Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) is a promise to ensure that those who serve, or who have served, in HM Armed Forces and their families are treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve. The AFC relies on individuals, communities and organisations across the UK to actively support it in order to make a difference.

Our commitment

As part of the Armed Forces Covenant, UWE Bristol will uphold the following key principles:

• No member of the Armed Forces community should face disadvantage in the provision of public or commercial services compared to any other citizen
• In some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured or bereaved. 

How we recognise the Armed Forces

We will recognise the value that serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring in these ways.

Promoting the Armed Forces

• Publicising our commitments on our website, including the covenant logo, setting out how we seek to honour the Armed Forces community and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers.
• Showing on our website and through our actions that UWE Bristol is an armed forces friendly organisation.
• Supporting academic research, innovation, skills and enterprise in the Defence and security sector as part of the University’s commitment to the Defence Universities Alliance.

Veterans and service spouses and partners

• Welcoming job applications from veterans. Ensuring job descriptions and our recruitment and selection processes are inclusive and recognise transferrable skills gained through military careers.
• Welcoming job applications from the service community, ensuring job descriptions and recruitment and selection processes are inclusive.

Reservists and cadet force adult volunteers

• Staff serving in the Territorial Army and Armed Forces Reserve may be granted one week’s paid leave per year for annual training and courses.
• Additional paid leave may be granted to undertake further training if this cannot be arranged outside of normal working hours.
• Supporting our employees who are already members of the Reserve Force.

National events

• Raising awareness amongst manager, staff and students of key events including Armed Forces Day, Reserves Day, the Poppy Appeal Day and Remembrance activities.
• Providing chaplaincy support and sanctuary spaces for individuals and communities to reflect and remember.

We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them in inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.