Support for volunteer reservists and their families

Not being re-employed following a deployment

If you aren’t re-employed, you can apply to a tribunal.

Write to the tribunal if, after telling your employer you’re returning to work and:

• you don’t hear back from them
• they won’t re-employ you
• they offer you a job you’re not happy with.

A tribunal can instruct your former employer to re-employ you or award you financial compensation.
Contact:

Employment Tribunal Service (England, Scotland and Wales)
3rd Floor
Alexandra House
14-22 The Parsonage
Manchester
M3 2JA

Telephone: 0161 833 6316

• Rights and responsibilities for reservists and employers

Further help is also available from the Defence Relationship Management and through the Unit’s ROSO (Regimental Operational Support Officer).

Medical issues arising from training, or deployment

You may experience physical, injuries as a result of training exercises or deployment. Whilst these will be addressed by the Combat Medics and/or Defence Medical Services (DMS) whilst in Service, there may be complications after. You are entitled to access healthcare in these circumstances from either, or both the DMS and the NHS – depending on the nature of the injury and available resources.

Mental health

If you have returned from operations since 1 January 2003, you qualify for enhanced support for mental health problems through the Reserves Mental Health Programme.

If eligible, you will be offered a mental health assessment. This will be conducted at The Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre by appropriately qualified members of the DMS. If appropriate and required, you will be offered out-patient treatment by the DMS via the MOD’s community mental health department.

Life-changing injury and its impact on accommodation needs

Social rented housing

Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 regulates the allocation of social rented housing by local authorities. The regulations ensure that, where local housing authorities decide to use a local connection requirement as a qualification criterion, they must not apply it to current or former Reservists who are suffering from a serious injury, illness, or disability which is wholly or partly attributable to their Service, so as to disqualify them from an allocation of social housing.

Housing information can be found via your local authority:

• Coventry City Council
• North Warwickshire Borough Council
• Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
• Rugby Borough Council
• Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Stratford-on-Avon District Council
• Warwick District Council

Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs)

Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are grants provided by a local authority to help meet the cost of adapting a property for the needs of a disabled person.
They are normally used for adaptations to enable:

• easier access to, from and around the property and ensuring the property and garden is safe for the disabled person to use
• providing or adaptation of a room in which there is a lavatory, bath or shower, and wash-hand basin for the disabled person to use
• easier access to a room used or that can be used as a bedroom.