Armed Forces Covenant Award Following Commendation from Staff

We are proud to announce that JD Cooling Group have recently received the Armed Forces Covenant (Bronze Award) from the government’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) in acknowledgement of our commitment to support both existing and ex-armed forces personnel within the business.

 

As part of its pledge, JD Cooling has long been committed to treating serving and ex-armed forces personnel and their families with acknowledgement, fairness and respect, through demonstrating and advocating support to the armed forces community.

 

JD Cooling fully backs those who proudly protect our nation through actively supporting employees from an armed forces background. The company are advocates for the Reservist scheme and work with employees to ensure they can fulfil their role with the armed forces, with full reassurance that they can return to their position once they’ve completed their duties.

 

 

To receive recognition from ERS, organisations much first be self-nominated by employees. It was JD Cooling’s Kevin Rodgers, Group Health and Safety Manager, who nominated his employer for the award. Kevin was responsible for deployment in Afghanistan whilst serving as a Regimental Quartermaster and Royal Engineer and he has since retired from the forces.

 

Kevin said, “JD Cooling are a very approachable company and they really understand what armed forces personnel have been through. They promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and are happy to have those kind of conversations with staff. The company always acknowledges Armed Forces Day each year and champions its serving and ex-military staff working in the business on these occasions. The company’s attitude and ethos is accepting and supportive, and it’s clear how much effort is invested into the scheme by the directors. I have no doubt JD Cooling will receive Silver and Gold awards for their support in the very near future.”

 

Colleague, Steven Garfoot, Senior Design Engineer in the JD Cooling Technical department in King’s Lynn, while continuing to serve as a corporal RAF Reservist, agrees. Since working for JD Cooling, he has completed two mobilisations including one operational tour.

 

Steven said, “JD Cooling has been highly supportive of my role, recognising the potential that military training and experiences can provide for the company. I feel that my service has never held me back within the company and I have always had JD Cooling’s full backing to ensure I meet the minimum commitments. Despite mandated mobilisations taking me away for extended periods of time – eight months last year and five months in 2016 – JD Cooling has supported me and made the process extremely simple, offering no obstructions to my service. On both occasions I returned to welcoming arms, as if I’d never left.”

 

John Dye, Group Chairman of JD Cooling, said: “We’re delighted to be nominated by our serving and retired armed forces personnel for this accolade. It’s an honour to be recognised but moreover we feel a greater privilege to have both veterans and serving personnel part of our team. Their skills, aptitude and dedication is a real asset to the business. We will continue to pledge our commitment to our award-winning employee scheme and always do what we can to support all team members from all backgrounds and walks of life.”