Veteran-friendly policy and practice

Using policies and practices to create a veteran-friendly workplace 

Veteran-friendly workplace policies establish a framework for recruiting, retaining and supporting veteran employees. These policies demonstrate your commitment to veteran employment and acknowledge the value veterans bring to your organisation.

Veteran-friendly policies enable your organisation to implement practices that support veterans in the workplace - through their Australian Defence Force (ADF) experience, veterans can be accustomed to clear communication about working requirements, conditions and opportunities. Continuing this clear communication in the civilian workplace, via workplace policies, can ease the move to a new role.

Depending on your organisation’s size and resource capacity, you may develop: 

• veteran-specific policies, which are policies solely focused on your veteran employees
• veteran-inclusive policies, which are wider organisational policies that reference or apply to veterans.

It is important to clearly communicate these policies to veteran employees, supporting them to understand their rights and opportunities within the workplace. Taking the time to walk new employees through your policies can ensure they feel confident applying them. 

Additionally, it is important that supervisors and managers understand and effectively apply these policies, and can answer questions that employees may have. Training supervisors and managers to operate as key contacts for veteran employees helps to create a supportive workplace.Veteran-friendly workplace policies demonstrate your commitment to veteran employment and acknowledge the value veterans bring to your organisation. These policies enable your organisation to implement practices that support veterans in the workplace.

This page will guide you through integrating a veteran-friendly lens into your workplace policies. In many cases, this may simply involve slight adjustments to your current policies. This page includes examples of language you can incorporate into your veteran-friendly policies.  

It is important to approach Veteran-friendly policy holistically. This page covers the following key policies:

• diversity, equity and inclusion
• recruitment and candidate selection
• leave entitlements
• flexible working arrangements
• health and wellbeing
• commemoration
• career development.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

The veteran community is a highly diverse demographic. An individual’s veteran identity and experience may intersect with other identities, such as cultural background and gender. 

Recognising these intersections is crucial in developing policies that acknowledge the full spectrum of veteran identities and experiences.

As part of your organisation’s diversity, equity and inclusion policy, consider including veterans and veteran family members. Veterans and their families can face barriers to employment in the civilian workforce. As such, they can greatly benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 

The sample clause below is an example of how to embed a veteran lens into your diversity, equity and inclusion policy.

Sample clause

Veterans

[Organisation] is committed to employing veterans. Veterans have a world-class skillset and are a valuable talent pool. We are committed to overcoming the barriers to equitable representation of veterans in the civilian workplace. We aim to be inclusive of and welcome veterans in our organisation. 

At [organisation], we support diversity, equity and inclusion for veterans by: [List relevant activities. Example text is provided below.]

Resourcing 

• providing funding to our veteran employee group, open to all veterans and ADF-connected employees
• setting aside an annual budget for veteran events and initiatives, organised by our veteran employee group.

Goal setting

• aiming for a target of 10% veterans employed as a proportion of the workforce.

Training

• making ADF and veteran cultural competence training available to all employees.

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Recruitment and candidate selection

A veteran recruitment policy is key to being a supportive veteran employer. This policy can collate your initiatives supporting veteran recruitment. This increases accountability and transparency. 

Refer to Veteran-inclusive job advertising, Connecting with veterans, Supporting veteran applicants and Veteran-inclusive interviewing for more information and tips about the support you might offer to veterans during your recruitment process.

Sample clause - recruitment and candidate selection

[Organisation] is committed to recruiting veterans. This includes providing tailored support to veteran job applicants, from the job advertising stage up to the interview and on-boarding process. This support aims to assist veteran applicants to showcase their skills and strengths. 

Support available to veteran job applicants includes: [List support available. Example text is provided below.]

• Recruitment staff are trained to be knowledgeable about the ADF.
• All veteran job applicants are guaranteed a phone call to offer feedback on their application.
• Recruitment staff consult veteran employees within our organisation to help understand applications and CVs from veteran job applicants. Recruitment staff may also consult veteran family members or other employees with knowledge of the ADF.
• A veteran employee will be included on the interview panel when interviewing a veteran applicant.

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Leave entitlements

Moving from the ADF is a time of significant change, with many veterans also managing family, health and other personal commitments. Some veterans may balance ongoing military commitments alongside civilian work. It is therefore important to clearly communicate available leave entitlements in workplace policies so that veterans know what support is available to them as they navigate these responsibilities.

Australian employers are also required to release employees for Reserve service. To find out more about employers’ Reserve obligations, visit ADF Reserves and Employer Support.

To provide extra support, you can offer:

• commemorative leave
• paid Reserve leave
• top-up pay to employees on Reserve leave
• additional health leave.

Sample clause - Leave entitlements

[Organisation] recognises that veteran employees may be balancing ongoing military commitments alongside civilian work. We offer the following leave entitlements for veteran employees: [List leave entitlements. Example text is provided below.]

• 2 days of commemorative leave per year. These may be taken on ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day or other significant commemoration days of the employee’s choosing.
• Reserve service leave as required.

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Flexible working arrangements;

As veteran employees often balance work with family, health and ongoing ADF commitments, flexible work arrangements can support them to thrive in the workplace. 

Flexible work arrangements could include: 

• flexible work hours
• changes to patterns of work
• working from home arrangements.

Sample clause - Flexible working arrangements

[Organisation] recognises that veteran employees may benefit from flexible working arrangements to balance family, health and continuing ADF commitments. [Organisation] is committed to supporting veteran employees to balance these commitments through flexible working opportunities, where necessary and available. 

This policy outlines a range of flexible working opportunities available to veteran employees, along with other employees. Supervisors should ensure that veteran employees are aware of this policy and encourage employees to discuss flexible working opportunities with them.

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Health and wellbeing 

As with other employees, it is important to support the health and wellbeing of veteran employees in the workplace. Your organisation’s health and wellbeing support can go beyond legally mandated occupational health and safety requirements. 

As an employer, you may choose to:

• provide flexible leave options for veteran employees to attend health services and treatment
• provide an Employee Assistance Program
• provide links to veteran health services and support
• demonstrate openness and understanding about veteran health and wellbeing
• train staff to minimise bias and stereotyping about veteran health challenges
• provide mental health first aid training to staff
• offer specific mental health and wellbeing leave.

Sample clause - Health and wellbeing

Like all employees, veteran employees can benefit from health and wellbeing support in the workplace. It is important to remember that each veteran has a unique experience of health and wellbeing following their service. Veterans can benefit from health supports that are tailored to the veteran community. 

Veteran employees can access a range of supports available to them via the Department of Veteran’s Affairs website, such as:

• Health support and mental health care
• Open Arms’ counselling services for veterans and their families
• DVA rehabilitation
• the DVA list of support services around Australia and ex-service organisations

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Commemoration

Commemorating service in the workplace is an important part of being a supportive veteran employer. Formalising this commitment in a dedicated policy ensures that all veteran employees and those with ADF connections are aware of your organisation’s dedication to honouring their service. 

Refer to Commemorating service for more information and tips about commemoration in the workplace. 

Sample clause - Commemoration

[Organisation] is committed to commemorating service in the workplace. 

At [Organisation], our commitment to commemoration includes: [List commemorative initiatives. Example text is provided below.]

• a minute of silence in the workplace on Remembrance Day
• fundraising events and activities in the lead-up to ANZAC Day
• an annual ANZAC Day morning tea.

When engaging in commemoration at [Organisation], all employees should be aware that:

• ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day are about commemoration, not celebration. Employees should be mindful of how they speak about these commemorative days. It is important to express solemnity and gratitude for service.
• When organising commemorations, consult with veteran employees on how they may like to be involved.
• Some veterans may wish to commemorate privately. Don’t assume that all veterans will want to take part.

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Career development

Career development is an important way of supporting veteran employees to thrive in the workplace. Clearly outline career development opportunities, particularly those tailored to veterans. A good way to do this is by having a formal career development policy. This policy could include information about training, performance management and promotion. It may consider how to set out pathways for advancement in the organisation as well as options for ongoing training and professional development. See Veteran employee career development for more ways to enhance career development for veteran employees. 

Sample clause - Career development

[Organisation] is committed to developing veterans’ careers in the civilian workforce. All veteran employees will be supported to develop their professional capabilities, undergo relevant training and work towards their career goals. 

Veteran employees are encouraged to speak to their supervisors about opportunities for career development. Career development opportunities include: [List opportunities. Example text is provided below.]

• our mentoring program, which includes a veteran stream
• tailored professional development plans for veteran employees
• regular opportunities for all employees to undertake training on technical and soft skills.