Health and wellbeing
Our colleagues' health and wellbeing is our number one priority.
We encourage a culture of wellbeing and inclusivity, we recognise how diverse our workforce is, and we offer a range of health and wellbeing support to meet the varied needs of our colleagues.
We value your wellbeing and want you to be your best inside and outside of work. Our ethos is about maintaining wellness and providing the right tools to help you do that. We have developed holistic and accessible support that is established by our six pillars. We recognise that the pillars are not independent of one another and health and wellbeing can be complex.
Our six health and wellbeing pillars
Healthy mind
- Mental health resource centre for colleagues
- Workshops and tools to help support mental health
- Mental health advocates, first aiders and support structures
- Free access to applications such as Headspace
Healthy body
- Private medical benefit offered to all colleagues
- Healthy lifestyle advice
- Healthcare options including cancer care and support
- Accessibility and comfort at work
- Free eye tests for colleagues
Healthy work-life
- Work from home for up to three days a week
- Flexible summers and bank holidays
- Job sharing encouraged
- Career breaks of up to 12 months
- Time for volunteering and fundraising activities
Healthy relationships
- Harnessing a culture where you can be yourself and your best
- Support for parents and carers
- Emergency assistance for colleagues experiencing domestic abuse
Healthy finances
- Various colleague offers including season ticket loans
- Specialist support and signposting for colleagues
- Colleagues can tailor their financial benefits to what works best for them
Life stages
- Support through life changes such as pregnancy, menopause, separation and loss
- Healthcare options and Employee Assistant Programme to support during distressing situations
- Flexibility and support for late-stage careers
Helping our colleagues through difficult times
Living with cancer
When 1 in 2 of us are likely to get cancer, making sure we’re there for our people at such a crucial time is something we’re committed to.
We know that for many people with a cancer diagnosis for themselves or a loved one, continuing to work can offer an important sense of normality. It’s also clear that colleagues will likely struggle with the effects of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and the emotional and psychological impacts, and may need to take time off.
We want to do all we can to help, and we’re proud to support the #workingwithcancer campaign with some important pledges.
1. We’ll work with our colleagues to better understand their journey with cancer and what more we could do to support them.
2. We’ll build awareness of the impact of having cancer and the support available to colleagues. We aim to reduce stigma, support our people towards early identification and treatment, and make sure they feel safe and supported to discuss their cancer diagnosis and treatment in the workplace.
3. We’ll work with subject matter experts to upskill our leaders, line managers and our people, so that they can better support others living with cancer and their care-givers in the moments that matter.
Mental health
We’ve been working hard to help break down some of the barriers that keep people from talking about their mental health and seeking help when they need it most.
We're committed to our mental health strategy which covers:
- increasing understanding
- reducing stigma
- empowering wellbeing.
We've trained over 2,500 colleagues as mental health advocates to promote the cause and signpost people towards advice and support when they need it.
We're also immensely proud of our past charity partnership with Mental Health UK, which ran from 2017 to 2022. Over six incredible years we raised more than £16 million for them, which has collectively helped millions of people across the UK with their mental health.
We continue to include mental health as a core part of our overall health and wellbeing support for colleagues.
We were a winner of the 'Wellbeing' award at the Business Culture Awards 2023, for our work to help and support colleagues living with cancer.
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