To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to protect members of the Territorial Army from workplace discrimination.
Answered on
11 November 2014
An 'anti-disadvantage' survey was launched on 3 July 2013 to gather any evidence of disadvantage against which the Government might be able to legislate, in order to protect Reservists. A very small number of cases were reported. Where requested, engagement with these employers took place to rectify the particular issues identified. However, the survey did not generate sufficient data to determine the scale of disadvantage so a new question will be included in the next annual Reserves Continuous Attitude Survey and, if necessary, additional measures to protect members of the Reserves from discrimination will be considered.
Specific employment protection for Reservists has been included in the Defence Reform Act 2014, which commenced on 1 October this year. Reservists now have immediate access to an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal without the usual two year qualifying period of service if they believe the primary reason for their dismissal is because they are a Reservist. This is an important step in minimising any disadvantage arising from Reserve service.
The Ministry of Defence has also actively engaged with employers to impart the benefits of employing Reservists and to mitigate any impact on the employer. These include advance notice of training programmes for the coming year and the provision of a local point of contact. It is hoped that better and earlier engagement will avert any issues that could lead to Reservists being disadvantaged.