DHL Supply Chain
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We DHL Supply Chain will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, 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;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 DHL Supply Chain recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- Flexible Leave For Spouses
- UK Reservists
- UK Cadets
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Armed Forces Charities
- UK Wounded, Injured And Sick
We also pledge the following:

To be an Employer of Choice for personnel leaving the armed forces by: Engaging with the Recovery Career Service to support, as far as is practicable, employment opportunities for wounded, injured or sick veterans Offering, as appropriate, specific skills training to veterans Working closely with the Career Transition Partnership to ensure relevant roles are advertised through their web site and promulgated at Jobs Fairs / Careers briefings Providing access to a Military Leavers Web Site to publicise relevant and specific information for the service leaver and point of contact details Providing, where appropriate, a mentor to forces leavers joining DHL to ease the transition process and help career development Holding Military Talent Days to build understanding between the military and the private sector Developing a comparability matrix to highlight the applicability of military qualification and skills to civilian employment Support our Reservists by: Providing 2 weeks paid leave p.a. to fulfil training commitments Accommodate training commitments Accommodate mobilisation Twin reservist regiments with DHL depots, where feasible, to aid recruitment / skills training Provide a virtual community to facilitate shared learning’s / experiences between our reservists Support Military Forces personnel by: Taking into account the military commitments of a spouse of a member of the Armed forces when reviewing requests for leave Providing special paid leave for employees who are bereaved through the loss of a member of the Armed Forces Endeavouring to support the employment or service spouses and partners through providing awareness of and access to available career opportunities Supporting employees to volunteer and raise funds for Armed Forces charities as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility employee engagement commitment Supporting a co-ordinated nationwide poppy appeal collection in November to raise funds for the Royal British legion Communicate our Commitment by: Encourage partner organisations / suppliers to join the Corporate Covenant scheme Promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces friendly organisation by publishing our covenant in our depots, branches and offices and relevant external communication channels

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