This is covered in The Reserve Forces Act 1996 (RFA 96). There are four main powers under which mobilisation can take place:
- If it appears that national danger is imminent, a great emergency has arisen or if there’s been an actual attack on the United Kingdom Sections 52 (mobilisation) and 68 (recall)
- If it appears that warlike operations are in preparation or progress e.g. Afghanistan (s54)
- If it appears necessary or desirable to use our Armed Forces on operations outside the UK for the protection of life or property; or on operations elsewhere in the world for the alleviation of distress or the preservation of life or property in time of disaster or apprehended disaster, e.g. the Balkans (s56)
- if it appears necessary or desirable to use our Armed Forces for urgent work of national importance (s56)
Legally, all mobilisations are compulsory. The Armed Forces use a process known as ‘Intelligent Selection’ to identify the most appropriate people for call out. This allows Reservists to be selected according to their individual skills and specialisations and allowing a unit to take into account a Reservist’s personal and employment circumstances.
Occasionally, however, when there are very short operational deadlines, for example, the Ministry of Defence cannot meet its requirements by identifying willing and available individuals. Under these circumstances a Reservist may be mobilised without taking account of personal, welfare and employment issues.
Find out what happens when your Reservist employee is mobilised or what financial assistance you can claim if your Reservist employee is mobilised.