After employers have waved goodbye to their military reservists, they can pick up cash help from the MoD and then wait to welcome back employees with sharper skills says Steve Crabb
A war with Iraq could have many consequences for the grocery industry but it's already having a direct and measurable impact in one area: the call-up of reservists.
In January the government issued compulsory call-up notices to 6,000 civilians but this could be the tip of the iceberg if there's a prolonged conflict or an occupation of Iraq. There is a total of 46,000 reservists who could, potentially, be mobilised and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has confirmed that the total size of the call-up is still under review.
As an employer, you are not obliged to allow your staff to volunteer to become a reservist but if they do, you can't stop them being called up. You can appeal against a call-up, if you think you can prove that your organisation would suffer "serious harm" as a result of losing a key member of staff and there's no way you could adequately replace them. Alternatively, your employee can ask for an exemption. In fact, about 15% of the first 2,000 reservists to be called up asked to be released.
The odds are, however, that any employee who is called up will have to go and in that case, you will be given a minimum of two weeks' notice and an indication of roughly how long you are going to lose the employee for.
The good news for employers is that you don't need to pay the salaries of staff absent on military service: the Ministry of Defence gives them service pay, plus a top-up to make up the difference between service pay and their civilian remuneration.
The MoD will also take over the employer's pension scheme contributions, provided the employee keeps on making their own payments to the scheme. Or reservists may switch to the armed services' own pension scheme for the duration.
Employers are also entitled to compensation from the MoD. The "employers standard award" is intended to cover any extra costs you incur, such as recruiting a temporary replacement, paying agency fees or retraining the employee when they return. If the standard award doesn't cover all your costs, you can apply for a special hardship grant.
Reinstatement
Whatever arrangements you make, you do have to reinstate returning reservists in their old job, or in an alternative one on the "most favourable terms that are reasonable and practicable", and they are protected from dismissal for anything up to a year after they return.
So why would any employer want to encourage their employees to volunteer for the reserves, when the Iraq crisis and the war on terrorism seems likely to make call-ups a serious occupational hazard? An MoD initiative, Sabre (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers), puts the case on its website: "In the course of their training, reservists develop a broad range of capabilities that every employer values.
"These include leadership, man management, project planning, decision-making and team building. Reservists are physically and mentally fit, have a strong sense of duty and often come back from a tour of duty with additional skills and experience which can immediately benefit themselves and others in their regular jobs."
Sabre's website www.sabre.mod.uk also offers case studies, gives answers to frequently asked questions and includes a wealth of practical advice.
n Steve Crabb is editor of People Management
{{JOBS & CAREERS }}
A war with Iraq could have many consequences for the grocery industry but it's already having a direct and measurable impact in one area: the call-up of reservists.
In January the government issued compulsory call-up notices to 6,000 civilians but this could be the tip of the iceberg if there's a prolonged conflict or an occupation of Iraq. There is a total of 46,000 reservists who could, potentially, be mobilised and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has confirmed that the total size of the call-up is still under review.
As an employer, you are not obliged to allow your staff to volunteer to become a reservist but if they do, you can't stop them being called up. You can appeal against a call-up, if you think you can prove that your organisation would suffer "serious harm" as a result of losing a key member of staff and there's no way you could adequately replace them. Alternatively, your employee can ask for an exemption. In fact, about 15% of the first 2,000 reservists to be called up asked to be released.
The odds are, however, that any employee who is called up will have to go and in that case, you will be given a minimum of two weeks' notice and an indication of roughly how long you are going to lose the employee for.
The good news for employers is that you don't need to pay the salaries of staff absent on military service: the Ministry of Defence gives them service pay, plus a top-up to make up the difference between service pay and their civilian remuneration.
The MoD will also take over the employer's pension scheme contributions, provided the employee keeps on making their own payments to the scheme. Or reservists may switch to the armed services' own pension scheme for the duration.
Employers are also entitled to compensation from the MoD. The "employers standard award" is intended to cover any extra costs you incur, such as recruiting a temporary replacement, paying agency fees or retraining the employee when they return. If the standard award doesn't cover all your costs, you can apply for a special hardship grant.
Reinstatement
Whatever arrangements you make, you do have to reinstate returning reservists in their old job, or in an alternative one on the "most favourable terms that are reasonable and practicable", and they are protected from dismissal for anything up to a year after they return.
So why would any employer want to encourage their employees to volunteer for the reserves, when the Iraq crisis and the war on terrorism seems likely to make call-ups a serious occupational hazard? An MoD initiative, Sabre (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers), puts the case on its website: "In the course of their training, reservists develop a broad range of capabilities that every employer values.
"These include leadership, man management, project planning, decision-making and team building. Reservists are physically and mentally fit, have a strong sense of duty and often come back from a tour of duty with additional skills and experience which can immediately benefit themselves and others in their regular jobs."
Sabre's website www.sabre.mod.uk also offers case studies, gives answers to frequently asked questions and includes a wealth of practical advice.
n Steve Crabb is editor of People Management
{{JOBS & CAREERS }}
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