Responsible employers support the mental and physical health of their employees, recognising that mental health is a health and wellbeing need in the workplace.

A focus on health and wellbeing is about showing a concern for your employee’s mental and physical wellbeing, ensuring that they feel safe, healthy and satisfied at work.

Employee health and wellbeing programmes can include everything from retirement plans and maternity leave, to discounted gym memberships and private healthcare. However, not all elements of employee wellbeing are about benefits. Training managers in recognising signs of stress and burnout is also key, along with a commitment to teambuilding and communication, creating a positive workplace culture.

Access resources and follow essential criteria to help you become a better provider of health and wellbeing, or take the next step and make a pledge to be a Good Employer with employee wellbeing.

Health and wellbeing

What are the benefits of providing health and wellbeing support?

  1. Reduce absenteeism. Absence due to mental health costs the UK economy more than £8 billion per year (OSH), but promoting employee health is proven to reduce absenteeism, lower staff turnover and boost workplace morale. 82% of health and wellness programmes in the workplace dramatically reduce sickness absence (ERS).
  2. Increase productivity. Employers who invest in health and wellness double their return through increased productivity (ISSA)
  3. A happier, healthier workforce. Promoting health and wellbeing fosters a positive workplace culture and boosts employee morale. This can in-turn lead to higher engagement levels.
Health and wellbeing

Make the pledge

Join the Charter as a supporter and make a commitment to improving health and wellbeing in your organisation. Commit to supporting the mental and physical health of employees, recognising that mental health is a health and wellbeing need in the workplace.

Make the pledge and join the charter

Health and wellbeing criteria

What does best practice look like?

Advice for wherever you are on your good employment journey:

→ Getting started with health and wellbeing commitments

→ Demonstrating commitment to excellent practice

Getting started with health and wellbeing commitments

Supporters of the Charter commit to support the mental and physical health of all employees, including adjustments for people with long-term conditions and disabilities, delivering high standards of health and safety in the workplace, developing a workplace where stress is recognised, managed and mitigated and so reducing the costs of absences and providing the benefits of a more diverse workforce.

Demonstrating commitment to excellent practice

If you want to take it a step further, and demonstrate excellence, Members of the Charter will put their commitment to health and wellbeing into action by supporting everyone to be a productive and valued employee, accepting that all staff are individuals with differing needs, through providing evidence of the following criteria:

  1. The commitment of senior leaders to developing a culture where employees have the ability to influence and create a healthy and productive workplace, with an emphasis in recognising stress and its mitigation.
  2. Monitor staff wellbeing and working environment, ensuring reasonable minimum and maximum working temperatures and following guidance set by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with a requirement to act on feedback with real and tangible outcomes.
  3. Acknowledging different life stages and supporting staff to thrive within their working environment, including adjustments for people with long-term conditions and disabilities.
  4. Acknowledging that mental health is a health and wellbeing need that has to be considered in relation to an organisation’s wider values and objectives, with strategies subject to regular reviews.
  5. Managers having a specific objective to discuss employee wellbeing, with support in place to facilitate ongoing training and best practice.
  6. Internal and/or external support services for staff to access as and when they need them and the management of sickness absence in line with ACAS or equivalent guidelines.
  7. Conscious of the organisations responsibility to minimise animal cruelty in its working practices and where possible a ‘pet friendly’ workplace policy will be implemented.
  8. Businesses employing over 50 employees will appoint a Wellbeing Champion and adopt Mental Health First Aid(ers).
  9. Businesses employing over 50 employees will provide at least one day per year for employees to undertake CSR community volunteering opportunities and where possible engage with local community events.
  10. Offer all staff the opportunity to enter into the Cycle to Work, salary sacrifice scheme, or similar.
  11. Provide information on services to help address health & wellbeing needs to staff, enabling them to ‘self-refer’.

The characteristics of a good employer

Flexible work
Real Living Wage
Engagement and voice