Dorset Council

Our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant

We are proud to have achieved the Armed Forces Covenant Gold award this year. This award recognises our commitment and our ambition to develop our support for more than 80 of our employees who have a connection to the Armed Forces, whether as a veteran, family member, Reservist or Cadet Force Adult Volunteer.

Dorset council’s pledge through the Armed Forces Covenant ensures those who serve, or have served, in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated with fairness and respect in their communities, economy and society. The council signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant in 2019 with BCP Council and partners, including the NHS and Dorset Police. 

In our day-to-day operations, we have a range of policies that support the former Armed Forces personnel and Reservists we employ. These include: 

• Up to ten working days, or two weeks, paid leave each year for reserve forces training. 
• Support for employees who are a partner or spouse of a Reservist who is called up, including flexible working or a career break. 
• For Reservists who are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme who are called up for Reservist service, their pension continues to build for the duration the period they are called up.  

About us

At Dorset Council we have nearly 5,000 employees providing more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents.  Our ambition is to put Dorset Council at the heart of the community, making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace culture that treats everyone with dignity and respect and supports diversity, allowing all colleagues to bring their whole selves to work, without fear.

Achieving equality, diversity and fairness of opportunity is our shared responsibility. We work hard to ensure that as an organisation, we are all accountable for its delivery.

We encourage applications from those with military connections because we recognise and appreciate the value of the transferable skills and experiences that the Armed Forces sector has to offer.

At Dorset Council we advocate for Dorset on a local, national and global stage.  We work together with our communities and our partners to make things happen, by putting people first and designing services around their needs.