OREANDA-NEWS. Fujitsu UK & Ireland announced that it has signed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. By signing, the company pledges to support the British Armed Forces, by upholding the Covenant's key principles, which are:
* no member of the armed forces community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen
* in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.

The Armed Forces Corporate Covenant sets out the moral obligation of society towards members of the armed forces community. It provides a mechanism for communities to express support for members of the armed forces community and is designed to allow businesses and charitable organisations to express their support, and commit to ways in which they can provide that support.

Fujitsu, which is one of the leading ICT partners to the UK Defence Industry, and a proud supplier to the Ministry of Defence for nearly 50 years, signed the covenant at an official ceremony held ahead of the Army Sailing Associations Admirals Dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club in London. The Covenant was co-signed by Fujitsu UK & Ireland's Chief Executive Officer, Duncan Tait, and Lieutenant General Andrew Gregory CB in his role as Chief of Defence Personnel.

As an organisation, Fujitsu has formally introduced a number of policies and initiatives to better support reserve personnel, veterans, and their families, including:
* Up to two week's paid leave per annum to attend annual training, which is a condition of membership
* A leave policy and 'Your Choices' approach that support flexible leave requests from all employees combined with the fact that ex-Armed Forces employees can request up to a maximum period of two additional weeks unpaid leave for services training
* Setting up a collaboration site for our ex-Armed Forces personnel and entitling them to use the Employee Assistance Programme services
* A partnership with the Career Transition Partnership, which will assess any gaps the company faces and potentially point out how these can be addressed by employing ex-Armed Forces personnel
* Setting up a recruitment process that recognises Armed Forces skills and qualifications when interviewing for new positions.