Taking the Time to Change Pledge

Posted: 13-02-2020

As part of our commitment to challenging stigma and discrimination around mental health and improving workplace wellbeing, we signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge at our Annual General Meeting in November 2019.

Workplace wellbeing is a priority for us. Having taken part in the annual Time to Talk Day each February since its inception in 2014, we have forged strong links with businesses and workforces in the local area, raising awareness among employees and managers about how mental health is an issue that workplaces cannot afford to ignore:
    • Mental ill-health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, costing an average of £1,035 per employee per year
    • One in four British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety, depression and stress every year
    • 95% of employees calling in sick with stress gave a different reason instead of being open about their mental health
    • 300,000 people leave their place of work each year due to poor mental health

By signing the Employer Pledge, we are signalling our commitment to achieve lasting cultural change by changing how we think and act about mental health in the workplace. We are now part of a growing movement of more than 1,200 employers in England across all sectors from FTSE 100 companies and leading retailers to Government departments and local authorities.

The Employer Pledge is the starting point for our plans to ensure that any employee who is experiencing mental ill-health feels supported. We have developed an action plan of tangible, measurable activity to address how our workplace thinks and acts about mental health.





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