Serve and Protect become the first credit union to receive the ERS Gold Award

Wednesday 17 January 2024

Serve and Protect Credit Union are delighted to announce that they have received the Employee Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award, and in doing so, become the first credit union to achieve this feat.

The ERS Gold Award is the highest achievement available to employers that show support for the wider principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and Defence personnel – including service personnel, reservists, veterans, and their families.

Serve and Protect are a credit union, passionate about improving the financial resilience of the Armed Forces Community. In October 2015, the credit union began to work with the Ministry of Defence, allowing service personnel to save and borrow with repayments coming directly from their salary – acting as an ethical alternative to other financial providers.

Since 2015, Serve and Protect have grown to become the largest armed forces credit union in the UK, supporting over 5,000 members of the Armed Forces Community. Having signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2016, the credit union have continued to evolve and build on their support to the Defence personnel.

Paul Norgrove, CEO of Serve and Protect Credit Union, commented “We are thrilled to have received this prestigious award. Since we first began to work with the Ministry of Defence, we have made it a priority to develop our policies and culture to better support members of the Armed Forces Community that we employ.

I would strongly encourage fellow credit unions to follow our path in signing the Armed Forces Covenant to show your support for those that serve and protect our nation.”

Johnny Mercer, Minister for Defence People and Veterans said: “The breadth and diversity of the winners this year shows how business support for the Armed Forces continues to grow no matter the sector, company size or location. I am grateful for the positive attitude and flexible policies these organisations have adopted towards the defence community, which is testament to the fantastic contribution our serving personnel, veterans and their families can make to any organisation.

I am delighted that so many companies are supporting our people and that, through this scheme, we can give them the public recognition they deserve.”

Serve and Protect Credit Union has also recently been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Their Living Wage commitment will see everyone working for the credit union receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.30 in the UK or £10.75 in London. Both rates are significantly higher than the government minimum for over 25s, which currently stands at £8.72 per hour.

For more information about the Armed Forces Covenant and how to get involved, visit https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk. Or to find out more out the Living Wage Foundation,, visit https://www.livingwage.org.uk