As the austerity measures continue and more cuts are announced the Army will see its number of soldiers reduce by twenty thousand by the year 2015.

It is planned that the Territorial Army will step up to fill the gap. Over the next few years there are plans to take on enough people to at least double the current number. The problem, however, is whether or not an employer will be happy about the prospect of their employee taking off what could be months from work in order to serve for their country.

Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, who is responsible for the plans to draft in more territorial soldiers, is said to be planning a change in law so that employers are no longer allowed to ask a potential employee whether or not they are a member of the Territorial Army. This will work in much the same way as not asking a female whether or not she pregnant or plans on being so in the coming months. There will also be safeguards in place to ensure that a returning employee is able to return to work without any problems.

It is believed that recent events could lead to more people volunteering for the Territorial Army. The numbers who applied to help out at the Olympic games as well as the widely credited role that territorial soldiers played in terms of security at the Olympics is expected to lead to a spike in volunteers. It is hoped that in the next five years there will be a force of thirty thousand Territorial Army soldiers. There are currently only fourteen thousand who would be capable of fighting on the front line.

With all the talk of relaxing regulation in employment, how do these plans fit in? Surely this will lead to uncertainty for employers who in a time of recession need to know that they can be flexible where need be. These new plans could be too onerous for them and hamper any economic recovery. Earlier this year when it was suggested that some maternity regulation be amended to make things easier for employers this was blocked by the Prime Minister. We shall have to wait and see whether or not the Defence Secretary gets his way.