Do the numbers add up? 

A truly worthwhile initiative out there is the Armed Forces Covenant; a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

The UK's Defence Relationship Management (DRM) "partners with organisations throughout the UK, helping them understand the value of signing this Armed Forces Covenant and building mutually beneficial partnerships with Defence. It provides support on employing Reservists, veterans, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers and military spouses and improving fairness for the Armed Forces community in the consumer market."*

On their government website it displays the worthwhile work they put into supporting our UK military. However, there's more that could be done regarding the "military spouses" pledge they make. On the site, useful resources for HR teams are packaged so as to help support Reservists in work; people who sacrifice and deliver invaluable support to our UK defences. But where's the HR support for SPOs? There isn’t any, and this is where the SPO Voice can make a difference. We need to get this type of imbalance redressed because the statistics speak for themselves:

The House of Commons Library states that in 2021 there are 32,300 Reservists. Assuming all are in employment,

for every Reservist

there are 2.5 SPOs in employment **

32,300 Reservists - 78,800 SPOs

*Visit: www.gov.uk/government/groups/defence-relationship-management

** Consulting the UK Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey Results 2021: 68% of military SPOs were either in full-time or part-time employment.