A-Star Transport Midlands Limited
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 A-Star Transport Midlands Limited 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 A-Star Transport Midlands Limited 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 the Armed Forces: We have a coach with special full livery dedicated to our Armed Forces and Remembrance, some of our coaches with livery across the front, and all of the vehicles in our fleet have special temporary livery put on them each year for Remembrance, along with all of our destination boards being changed. We advertise these on our website and social media pages, along with any charity fundraising for the Royal British Legion that we undertake. We carry out private hire work for members of the Royal British Legion locally to us, taking them to places such as the National Memorial Arboretum. We also carry out voluntary work for a local Cadet Squadron (28 Squadron Shawbury), offering any services that may help, and recently attending their Remembrance Parade with our Special Livery Coach to help with their Social Media promotion. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community: Employment is offered to anyone able and capable of carrying out the job role required at A-Star Transport, including Armed Forces Reservists, Veterans, Cadet Adult Volunteers, Spouses, and Family Members, and consideration to each individuals needs is always taken into account. Jobs on offer with us can be advertised through Forces Families Jobs as well as other media. Should an employee require extra time off, sometimes at short notice, we will always endeavour to ensure this is possible and the choice will be given to them of if they wish to use their holiday allowance or simply take the leave unpaid. Short notice is to be expected in certain circumstances and we will always do our best to try to allow for this. Volunteers for work experience, whether adult or older student, are always welcome, and we enjoy giving others an insight into our industry. Communications, engagement and outreach: Training and e-learning is offered to all of our staff to enhance their job knowledge and skills, some of which is organised in house, and some of which is provided by external trainers but organised by the company. We will promote the Armed Forces Covenant and hopefully the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme if we can achieve an award, and always promote our support of the Armed Forces Community. Some of our promotion has been listed above and we also have celebrations with our staff locally for Armed Forces Day and VE Day with things such as fires and games and music, that all of our workforce is invited to take place in. All Covenant and recognition logos are used within our communication and on our website and social media pages we are very proud to advertise our achievements and the part we try to play in giving back to the community. There is a very friendly community within A-Star along with a low turnover of staff, resulting in a safe space for all employees to talk to each other as well as management, and a lot of support within the company for everyone involved. Family members, or close relations are always welcome to any company gathering, with all members of the company, top to bottom, looking out for one another. We engage on a regular basis and work very closely with a local entertainment company that is also signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant and is a prominent part of local celebrations for Armed Forces Day, VE Day, Remembrance, etc. Commercial: Last minute cancellations will not incur any charges from us for the Armed Forces Community, and there will always be fair access to our services, just as there is for everyone. We have accessible vehicles for those less mobile, and all of our staff will help in any way possible. Health: This is not really applicable to us, but we can say that we will always be as flexible as possible should any veterans or reservists working for us require time off for medical appointments. Housing: This is not applicable to us. Education: We can provide training for any member of the Armed Forces Community that comes to work for us, and an insight to our industry for anyone volunteering on work experience. For children of the Armed Forces that we transport (sometimes on home-to-school, holiday clubs, etc) we will always look out for their wellbeing, just as we do with all of our passengers, both children and adults. Civic responsibilities: We take part in any events and activities that we can in regards to Remembrance, etc, as well as being involved with a local Cadets Squadron whenever possible. We are a diverse and inclusive company that is family run and has been operating for almost 20 years our office is a safe space for all of our staff, and our vehicles and social media pages are a large platform for us to shout about things that we are passionate about, the Armed Forces being one of them, and we would be extremely proud to be able to advertise that we are pledged to the Armed Forces Covenant.

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.