The Reservist and his or her employer both have a right to seek an exemption or deferral on the following grounds.

A Reservist can apply because:

• he or she has sole parental or primary care responsibilities
• he or she is engaged in full-time education or training
• he or she works in a family-run business which would be seriously harmed by their absence
• he or she has entered into a contract of employment but has not yet started work under that contract, and the other party does not agree to postpone the start date
• he or she has compassionate reasons for the MOD to consider

Employers can apply for exemption or deferral from mobilisation if they can demonstrate that the Reservist's absence would cause serious harm to the business which will:

• result in a loss of sales, markets, reputation, goodwill or other financial harm
• cause serious impairment of the ability to produce goods or provide services
• cause harm to research and development of new products, services or processes, provided that this could not be prevented by the employer being given financial assistance under SI 2005/859.
• Applications for exemption or deferral must be made within seven days of the call-out notice being received.

Follow the link on the right for more information about applying for exemption and deferral.