Kent County Council has approved a new annual leave entitlement giving eligible staff up to 10 working days off to volunteer with military cadet organisations.
Council officers who give up their spare time supporting cadet units can now claim the paid special leave each year. It covers the Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force, Combined Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets — everything from annual camps and field training to first aid, science and engineering sessions, leadership development and community engagement.
KCC’s Personnel Committee voted it through on 14 September 2026. The timing wasn’t accidental: the council announced the policy to coincide with National Cadets Week, which runs until Sunday 11 October 2026.
There are an estimated 1,120 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers already active across Kent’s cadet forces, though only a fraction of those are KCC employees. The new entitlement is open to any KCC officer who volunteers to support children and young people in those organisations.
KCC Leader Linden Kemkaran said: “Cadet Force Adult Volunteers play a vital role in planning, delivering and supervising training for young people in military cadet units, helping them to develop key skills. By allowing staff to claim this additional special leave to spend time volunteering for cadet forces, we are able to further support our armed forces in line with our commitments set out in the Armed Forces Covenant. I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to work with Cadet Force Adult Volunteers to allow KCC staff to give their time to support and encourage them in taking on these important voluntary roles.”
The council is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, a public commitment to treat serving and former armed forces personnel, and their families, fairly.
The Personnel Committee’s vote on 14 September was the final say. The entitlement is now in place.
KCC staff to get 10 days' paid leave for cadet volunteering Quiz
5 questions