Plymouth Citybus Ltd
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 Plymouth Citybus Ltd 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 Plymouth Citybus Ltd 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
- Discounts
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:

Promoting our [Armed Forces] work, activities and events through our own digital & social media channels as well as working with the press Publishing our Covenant pledge on our web site www.plymouthbus.co.uk and in our offices Displaying the Covenant logo to show that members of the Armed Forces Community are welcome customers Supporting the possibility of the creation of an Armed Forces Community Network within the workforce Working with and advertising vacancies through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) www.ctp.org.uk as well as advertising widely in the Armed Forces Community, to ensure employment opportunities are made available to Veterans Offering interviews to Service Leavers and Veterans where essential selection criteria are met Recognising military skills and qualifications in our recruitment and selection process Supporting wounded, injured and sick through partnering with Recovery Career Services with the provision of work placements Participating in transition work fairs, where held locally, to raise awareness of the opportunities for employment in City Bus and the wider transport industry. Advertising vacancies widely in the Armed Forces Community Welcoming applications from spouses/partners and offering interviews to those who meet the criteria in the job specifications Committing to assist in finding alternative employment across the Go Ahead Group if an employee is required to move due to their partners Armed Forces posting Endeavouring to offer a degree of flexibility in granting leave for Service spouses and partners before, during and after a partners deployment; Sympathetically review requests for holiday where they impact on family life surrounding deployments Consider special leave for employees who are bereaved or whose partner is injured Staff are actively encouraged to become Reservist through work place information events provided by the Services Up to 2 weeks of special paid leave is available to attend annual training camps Accommodation of Reserve training commitments wherever possible Fully supporting and accommodating mobilised deployment of Reservist employees if required Work with Wessex Reserve Forces & Cadets Association www.wessexrfca. org.uk/employers to find out more about the mutual benefits of employing Reservists and become a publically supportive employer In return we expect Reservists to declare themselves as such Staff are actively encouraged to become helpers or instructors in the Cadet Forces Up to 2 weeks of special paid leave for uniformed instructors may be available to attend annual training camps and courses Accommodation of employees Cadet training commitments where possible Offer support or sponsorship in kind to local Cadet activities Making facilities or premises available for use of Cadets where appropriate Working with Wessex RFCA to gain understanding of the Cadet Forces and opportunities to assist Becoming an Armed Forces Day Partner, using the logo and flying the flag Following Armed Forces Day on social media and posting messages of support Linking to the Armed Forces Day web site Encouraging employees to take part in Reserve Forces Day, Uniform to Work Day and any Flag Raising Ceremonies; gathering case studies and stories and working with the press Publishing stories on the web, social media, through our own membership and other networks as well as working with the press Offering concessions to the Armed Forces Community during Armed Forces week and other military themed events around Plymouth Encourage and support employee fundraising for Service Charities Promoting concessions to the Armed Forces Community for special events through registration on the Defence Discount Service www.defencediscountservice.co.uk Reviewing our commitments on a regular basis, no longer than 3 year intervals

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.