East Anglia Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

Ceremony and celebration are central to the Olympic spirit. The Games will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the UK, including iconic British symbols.

Support to the Games will be an important task for Defence in 2012, but it will not divert them from their core business and main effort. During the Games, Defence will maintain its commitment to the protection of the UK, to current operations in Afghanistan, and to other standing commitments worldwide, including the ability to respond to the unexpected.

It has been normal practice in recent Olympics for military to support safety and security. The UK’s Defence contribution is on a similar scale to that deployed at other recent Games and will contribute to ensuring a safe, secure and enjoyable 2012 Olympics. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been fully involved in Olympic security planning work and the Government has agreed that the armed forces will provide the civilian authorities with support, making the best use of the UK’s resources.

Defence is preparing to contribute up to 13,500 personnel over the Games period as a whole in order to support the Police, and other civil and Olympic authorities, in the delivery of a safe and secure Games. Approximately 1,750 of these Defence personnel are expected to be Reservists.

Wherever possible the priority will be to minimise the impact on employers and where possible to mobilise those Reservists that have a more flexible situation. Therefore the MOD will continue to apply its policy of Intelligent Selection, designed to identify those Reservists with the training, skills and availability for mobilisation, in order to minimise the impact of mobilisation upon the individual, their family and employer. The dialogue with a Reservist’s employer is an important part of Intelligent Selection and is undertaken by the Reservist’s local unit, supported by central and regional organisations, such as SaBRE .

Cost is always a matter to be considered. The MOD will use personnel who offer the best result and the best value. Reservists offer specialist skills, local knowledge and are often more readily available than regulars who may be preparing for, or recovering from operations. For the individual Reservist the Olympics will provide an opportunity to participate in operations, possibly in direct support of their own communities.

Key points employers need to know:

• Most Reservists will be mobilised for a one-month duration from mid July to mid August, with a minority being mobilised for three-months from mid June.
• Call-out notices will be sent to employers 60 days prior to mobilisation, instead of the normal 28 days in order for employers to make appropriate arrangements. SaBRE strongly recommends that employers do not employ replacement staff until after a Reservist employee has been formally accepted into military service, i.e. mobilised. Many planning considerations can change an individual’s suitability or medical conditions can prevent an individual from actually mobilising even though they have received call-out notices.
• Legislation, namely the Safeguard of Employment Act 1985, places a legal obligation on employers to hold a Reservist’s job and reinstate the Reservist on completion of mobilised Service if it is reasonable and practical to do so. The call-out noitce will indicate the expected duration of any mobilisation.
• An employer has the right to apply for exemption or financial assistance. Details on how to apply will be sent to an employer with a call-out notice if their employee is selected for mobilisation. An employer doesn’t have to continue to pay a Reservist employee whilst they’re mobilised as they’ll be on a military salary. The employer can claim financial assistance to cover additional salary costs incurred, including overtime to other employees or the additional salary costs of a temporary replacement if they exceed the usual cost of the Reservist employee’s salary. The maximum amount an employer can claim for additional costs is currently set at £110 per day; roughly equivalent to £40,000 a year.
• Reservists who are employed by the emergency services, especially in London are unlikely to be mobilised. In addition, Reservists who have been mobilised in the last three years are unlikely to be considered for a mobilisation to support the Olympic Games, due to the provisions contained in the Reserve Forces Act 1996. Statutory limits currently state that a Reservist should only be mobilised for a maximum of 12 months out of every 36 month period. Therefore, if a Reservist has completed previous periods of mobilised service within the last 27/36 months they are unlikely to be considered. In some cases however, individuals who have mobilised in the last 36 months might be able to be mobilised, but only with the signed consent and support of their employer.

The focus of the Government and everyone involved is to deliver a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games that London, the UK and the world can enjoy, and the MOD appreciates employers’ support of their Reservist employee in making this happen.

If you have any specific questions or concerns you can contact us on our helpline (0800 389 5459) or get in touch with your local This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can find more information about employing a Reservist on our website.

14th February 2012

The Ministry of Defence, through SaBRE, have set up an online survey that they would very much like you to complete. 

This survey seeks to understand employers’ views of employing Volunteer Reservists and some new recommendations made to the MOD on how the Volunteer Reserve Forces should be used. Your views on these new recommendations, and the implications they may have for employers, are extremely important. The Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce and Forum of Private Business are all supporting this consultation with employers.

 The survey is hosted by our research partner Critical Research. To access the survey, please click on the following Link:

www.critical.co.uk/fr20employers

The survey should take roughly 10 minutes to complete and consists of approximately 20 questions. If this link does not work, simply copy and paste it into your internet browser.

If you have other contacts in your business who you feel this survey would be appropriate for, please feel free to forward this email and link. The survey is open for responses until 6^th January 2012, with the results due to be published in February.

This survey forms part of a wider research programme that SaBRE is currently conducting with employers on the recommendations made by the Future Use of the Reserve Forces 2020 report (FR20). The FR20 report was a comprehensive study assessing the most efficient use of the Reserve Forces for the future. The report’s findings were presented to Parliament in July 2011 and this employer research programme seeks to inform the MOD’s response to these findings.

Your time and contribution is much appreciated.

Kristina Carrington

Regional SaBRE Campaign Director

8th December 2011

The Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk - The Lord Tollemache KStJ JP, Colonel Paul Long – Suffolk Employer Support Chairman and Colonel Richard Lyne – Commanding Officer 3^rd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment welcomed Suffolk employers to a Support Breakfast and Certificate Presentation at The Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds on Tuesday 22^nd November 2011.

Following a welcome address by The Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, The Lord Tollemache KStJ JP, presentations were made by Lieutenant Colonel RFL Lyne of CO 3 Royal Anglian, Corporal Rundle of 6 Regiment AAC and Corporal Coote of 202 who presented their experiences of being on tour including examples of the skills they have gained through being  members of the Reserve Forces and the great benefits they have gained. A question and answer session was held after the presentations enabling employers to learn more about the experiences of the reservists.

To conclude events, The Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, The Lord Tollemache KStJ JP presented the Employers with Certificates of Support signed by the Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond, and the Chief of the Defence Staff Sir David Richards.

The events of the morning took place at The Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds which is a wonderful recently refurbished Grade I listed building with a Georgian chandeliered ballroom.

Click here to see a gallery of the event.

23rd November 2011

The High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Andrew Slack Esq and The Commander 49 (East) Brigade, Brigadier Andrew Williams OBE welcomed guests to a Post Operational Presentation at the Mansion House, Shuttleworth, Biggleswade on Thursday 6^th October. 

The evening commenced with a welcome from the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Andrew Slack Esq.

Corporal Crooke, a Reservist with 158 (R Anglian) Tpt Regt RLC (V) who had returned from Afghanistan 7 days earlier gave a presentation of his experience during his tour including examples of the skills he has gained through being a member of the Reserve Forces and the great benefits he has gained.

Mr Jim Wright, of Asda Distribution, who employs a number of Reservists, gave an employer’s view highlighting some of the benefits of employing reservists such as punctuality, attendance and leadership skills. 

Brigadier Andrew Williams OBE 49 (East) Brigade Commander closed the speeches by thanking the employers present for their valuable support without which the Reserve Forces mobilisation capacity would be severely hindered. 

The High Sheriff, Andrew Slack and Brigadier Williams concluded the evening by presenting the Employers with Certificates of Support signed by the Secretary of State for Defence  Dr Liam Fox, and the Chief of the Defence Staff Sir David Richards. 

The evening took place in the opulent setting of The Mansion House, built by Joesph Shuttleworth who bought the Old Warden Estate in 1872 and commissioned Henry Clutton, the prominent Victorian architect, to design the mansion based on Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire.  During the second world war, the house was a Red Cross convalescent home and auxiliary hospital for airmen. It then opened as an agricultural college in 1946. Today, Bedford College Services manage the Mansion and the Shuttleworth College on behalf of the Shuttleworth Trust.

To see a gallery, click here.

28th October 2011