UK specialist rail depot maintenance firm MTMS has been recognised for going beyond the call of duty to support the country’s armed forces by being awarded the highest accolade in a national employers’ scheme.

The company, based in Moira, Leicestershire, is one of nearly 200 companies have been given the gold award in the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme this year.

The announcement, made yesterday, is the culmination of a years-long initiative at MTMS to support former and serving personnel, as well as supporting local army, sea and air cadets.

It specifically targets former service personnel when recruiting and currently gives 15 days’ paid leave for any reservists working at the firm, six days’ paid leave for cadet force adult volunteers and two days’ leave for any spouses of serving personnel.

Its group chairman, Malcolm Prentice, has also become a familiar face at local cadet corps, including the local 1211 Squadron RAF Cadets in Swadlincote, to hand over hundreds of pounds a time to support its activities.

He has also helped Derbyshire Army Cadet Force and Chesterfield Sea Cadets, as well as the TS Osborne sea cadets, in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where he has other community commitments.

MTMS picked up its silver award three years ago and has made the step up to gold following the recruitment of its strategic lead, Bruce Spencer, who is himself ex-military.

Bruce spent most of his working career in the Army, having served with the Worcester and Sherwood Foresters in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia.

He joined the Adjutant General’s Corps in the 90s, where one of his roles that of military attaché in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During his time at MTMS he has organised various events and activities related to its work with former and ex-military personnel and says the firm’s receipt of a gold award, which followed having previously earned the silver and bronze awards, was long overdue.

He said: “MTMS’s commitment to helping the military community has been gold standard for years, whether that’s employing former military personnel, giving them time for military duties or helping to fund activities for the servicemen and women of the future.

“As someone who served with the Army, I understand what a difference that level of commitment makes, especially to someone who has just left the forces and needs to take a job in civilian life, which can feel like very unfamiliar territory.

“There are a host of advantages to employing former military personnel and MTMS has benefitted from that over the years, while also actively encouraging other companies to sign up for the covenant and support the armed forces as well.”

The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme was launched in 2013 and 1,000 firms across the country have previously joined the ranks of its gold award winners, including Marks & Spencer Plc, Motorola Solutions UK Ltd and Toyota Manufacturing UK.

This year’s recipients include construction equipment manufacturers Caterpillar BCP and the East Midlands Ambulance Service, Google and B&Q.

Malcolm Prentice, group chairman of MTMS, said: “We’re incredibly proud to achieve our gold award, which means we now stand in line with some of the country’s biggest and best-known companies to ensure our cadets, reservists and veterans are embraced for the future present and past.

“It is a huge endorsement of the work we put in, both at our HQ and out in the community, to support our armed forces, whether they are currently with the forces or used to serve – or will even serve their country in the future.

“Whichever of this applies to them, as a British company we feel that it’s important to support them. They’re willing to put themselves in positions we would find unthinkable in order to keep us safe, so it’s only right that we show our gratitude in return.”

MTMS currently services and maintains rolling stock and rail depot specialist equipment and carries out routine infrastructure tasks at more than a half of rail depots across the UK.

It serves such familiar names in mainline rail as First MTR South-Western Railway, Govia ThamesLink Railway, Arriva and Siemens.