The workplace wellbeing charter

The workplace wellbeing charter is an accreditation standard that is built on best practice, the latest research and business sense. For the past they have worked to improve the health of businesses and organisations – making them stronger, more productive and more profitable.

The workplace wellbeing charter is brought to you by Health@Work consultancy services, whose mission is to seamlessly embed workplace wellbeing into every aspect of an organisation.

How it works

Through the wellbeing lead (DCI level) under the people board and assisted by a project manager (DS level) and a network of wellbeing champions across the command – we worked with the external provider Health@Work consultants to implement a wellbeing framework looking at eight areas of wellbeing.

The charter

Health@Work are the only provider of an accreditation of this type within the UK. They are a not-for-profit business offering a wide range of safety, health and wellbeing related products and services either through funded programmes or commercial work.

Established in 1990 and recognised both locally and working with hundreds of organisations every year. The charter looks at eight areas of wellbeing within a framework which regions must evidence in order to achieve accreditation. Leadership, absence management, health and safety, mental health, smoking, physical activity, healthy eating and alcohol and substance misuse.

These align, in the main, with both the Blue Light Wellbeing Framework (BLWF) and the majority of wellbeing strategies currently in place both in force and within regions that have mature strategies. It will also help shape those regions who have yet to fully implement theirs. It forms a basis to align current wellbeing offerings providing a framework to set and track the progress against current and future wellbeing interventions using both quantitative and qualitative data.

Benefits

Being awarded the workplace wellbeing charter will visibly demonstrate policing’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of its staff. Awarded by an external and non-police body, it will reinforce our commitment and be a key factor in the recruitment and retention of staff. It also brings us in line with similar work which partner agencies are engaged in. 

Top tips for implementation

Tip 1
Allocate dedicated leads (volunteers) under wellbeing strand to develop a wellbeing strategy and action plan.
Tip 2
Plan monthly update meeting with network of wellbeing champions across force to drive progress and maintain momentum of work in every team. Ensure they have SLT support and time for this work.
Tip 3
Have a dedicated shared folder to store reference materials / toolkit which is kept regularly updated.
Tip 4
Seek feedback from staff using dedicated wellbeing survey to identify areas for improvement.
Budget required

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Ease of implementation

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Impact on investigators

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