Wednesday, 4 September, 2019
COHS has signed up to a Mindful Employer initiative, aimed at increasing mental health awareness at work and providing on-going support to staff who may experience stress, anxiety or depression.
The doctor-led team at Yorkshire’s COHS (Commercial Occupational Health Service), signed the voluntary agreement with ‘Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health,’ which seeks to support employers in helping staff to feel happy and healthy at work.
Dr Nicola Dann, Director and Founder of COHS, said: “By signing up to the charter, COHS is showing its commitment to improving the mental health of our staff.
“The initiative is aimed at increasing mental health awareness at work, and providing on-going support for staff who may experience anxiety, stress, depression or other mental health conditions.”
She added: “Workplaces tend to be where many people spend a lot of their time, and are therefore powerful environments to influence health.
“Our aim is to provide an environment that encourages and enables staff to lead healthy lives and make positive choices to support their wellbeing.
“Signing up to the charter shows our commitment in creating a supportive and open culture, where colleagues feel able to talk about mental health confidently and are able to appropriately support the mental wellbeing of all staff.”
Established in 2004, Mindful Employer is a UK wide initiative run by Devon Partnership NHS Trust. It aims to support mental wellbeing of staff by providing employers with easy access to professional workplace mental health training, information and advice.
By signing the charter, COHS has pledged to:
- Proactively support staff experiencing mental ill health.
- Not make any assumptions about a person with a mental health condition and their ability to work.
- Show a positive and enabling attitude towards all employees and job applicants with a mental health condition.
- Support line managers in managing mental health in the workplace.
- In accordance with the Equality Act (2010), ensure the recruitment of new staff is fair.
- Make it clear that people who have experienced mental ill health will not be discriminated against, and that disclosure of a mental health problem will enable both the employee and employer to assess and provide the right level of support or adjustment.
For more information visit Mindful Employer.
