Armed Forces at work inside Scotland’s largest NHS board

As part of a new UK Defence Journal series examining how Scottish public sector organisations support staff with links to the Armed Forces, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde provides an early case study in how those commitments are reflected inside a large employer.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it has identified 75 members of staff as belonging to the Armed Forces Community, a category that includes reservists, veterans, service leavers, cadet force adult volunteers and family members of serving personnel.

The disclosure forms part of a wider effort to understand how public bodies identify and support Armed Forces Community staff in practice, and how national commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant translate into workplace arrangements on the ground.

NHSGGC, one of the UK’s largest NHS boards, said the figure reflects staff who have self-identified through internal processes. It did not provide a breakdown by category, citing data protection concerns where small numbers could risk individual identification. While the number represents a small proportion of the board’s overall workforce, the fact that it is recorded centrally places NHSGGC among a smaller group of public sector employers able to quantify Armed Forces Community staff at board level, rather than relying solely on local awareness or informal arrangements.

Central data and engagement patterns

The FOI response also shows that small numbers of staff have formally registered with NHSGGC’s Armed Forces Community contact in recent years. Fewer than five staff registered in each of the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years, with a further five registering so far in the current year. Exact figures were withheld under exemptions relating to personal data.

The gap between the total number of identified Armed Forces Community staff and the lower level of formal registration suggests that engagement often takes place through other routes, including line management, peer networks and event-based activity, rather than through a single central reporting mechanism. This pattern is not unusual in large organisations, where staff may access support without formally registering with a designated contact, particularly where Armed Forces status is already understood within teams or departments.

Structured engagement and visibility

NHSGGC’s response and the internal documents released alongside it outline a sustained programme of engagement aimed at Armed Forces Community staff. These include information and engagement sessions held in November 2022 and November 2024, which the board said were used both to share progress on its commitments and to gather feedback directly from staff. The sessions were open to staff across the organisation with an interest in Armed Forces issues. The board also holds an annual Armed Forces event, intended to recognise staff contributions and facilitate engagement with senior leaders. Events were held in April 2023 and June 2024.

In June 2023, NHSGGC launched a private internal Facebook group for Armed Forces Community staff. Internal briefings described the group as a confidential, staff-only space intended to support connection across a geographically large organisation. Membership is restricted to verified employees, with administrators checking applicants to ensure eligibility. The group was created following feedback from staff who said they wanted more opportunities to engage with colleagues across services and sites who share Armed Forces links, reflecting a move from ad hoc engagement toward a more visible and accessible internal network.

External recognition

NHSGGC is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant and has embedded responsibility for Armed Forces issues within its governance arrangements, including the appointment of a non-executive board member as Armed Forces Champion and a named reservist champion within its estates leadership.

In July 2023, the board received the Ministry of Defence’s Gold Award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), the highest level of recognition available. The ERS recognises employers that demonstrate sustained and proactive support for the Armed Forces Community, including reservist-friendly practices, leadership advocacy and organisational visibility. At the time of the award, retired RAF Group Captain Alan Cowan, a non-executive board member and Armed Forces Champion, said it reflected the board’s long-standing commitment to Covenant principles and the contribution of Armed Forces Community staff across the organisation. Senior HR leadership linked the recognition to wider workforce priorities, framing Armed Forces support as part of broader inclusion and staff experience work rather than a standalone initiative.

What the data does and does not show

NHSGGC’s FOI response also highlights the boundaries of what is centrally recorded. The board confirmed that it does not hold specific data on flexible working requests made explicitly in relation to Armed Forces status, issuing a formal “not held” response under section 17 of FOISA. That distinction between support delivered in practice and data formally captured is likely to recur across the public sector. In many organisations, Armed Forces-related flexibility and leave arrangements are managed locally and embedded within general HR processes, rather than tracked as a discrete category.

Board response

Asked how it identifies and supports staff from the Armed Forces Community, and whether the Ministry of Defence’s recently launched VALOUR initiative has prompted any review of local arrangements, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said its approach combines national engagement, internal networks and third-sector collaboration.

In a statement to UK Defence Journal, the board said it supports Armed Forces Community staff across its workforce through “year-round staff communications and peer networks”, alongside engagement with the national Armed Forces Talent Programme. The board said it also works with external welfare organisations, including Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) and SSAFA Glasgow’s Helping Heroes, to ensure support is accessible to staff who need it.

On the MoD’s VALOUR initiative, which is intended to bring greater consistency to how veterans and related groups access support across public services, NHSGGC said it was monitoring how national structures develop. “We’re monitoring the MoD’s VALOUR initiative as national structures take shape and will align our local arrangements as guidance develops,” the board said.

A reference point for the series

This article opens Armed Forces at Work: Scotland, a UK Defence Journal reporting series examining how Scottish public sector organisations support members of the Armed Forces Community within their workforce. The series draws on Freedom of Information disclosures, published policy and organisational comment to build a picture of how support operates in practice across NHS boards, national services and other public authorities.

As the first organisation examined, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde offers an early reference point for how Armed Forces Community support can be organised within a large and complex employer. The board’s ability to provide a central staff figure, outline sustained engagement activity and point to external recognition shows how Covenant commitments can be reflected in day-to-day practice, even where some elements remain decentralised.

Future articles will look at how other organisations approach the same issues, including bodies that rely more heavily on local management arrangements or hold limited central data. Taken together, the series aims to show how visibility, leadership ownership and staff-led networks shape support for the Armed Forces Community across Scotland’s public sector, as well as where the limits of measurement and consistency remain.

Disclosure: The author previously worked for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in a non-policy, non-management role.