The Ministry of Defence has been urged to find out why less than one in 20 employers of military reservists claims costs when a worker is called up for service. The Armed Forces are increasingly relying on reservists from the Territorial Army to fulfil their growing military obligations. But figures released by the MoD last week revealed that only 57 of 1,200 call-ups last year resulted in compensation payments. David Yeandle, National Employers Advisory Board member, told Personnel Today that more needs to be done to discover why this is. “The MoD needs to get out there and find out exactly why firms are not claiming,” he said. The MoD has published new information on its Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers
But Yeandle added: “The process is quite complex and is not necessarily justified by the rewards.”
Employers can claim for reimbursement of costs including advertising for a temporary replacement and overtime for staff given additional responsibilities. But Yeandle believes they should be able to claim for extra costs, including training new recruits.
Earlier this month, 120 Territorial Army volunteers from the 7
th Battalion were deployed to Iraq, and 30 members of the 3rd Batallion started training in advance of a tour of Afghanistan.