Mental health charter

Our most important resource are our people. They define how we deliver our purpose. In return CCLA provides a supportive and stable working environment. CCLA strives to build and maintain a culture aligned to the positive mental health of all our people. 

CCLA aims to be an inspiring, positive and fulfilling place to work, and we want everyone to feel able to contribute, to be productive, to be engaged, to be respected, and to be happy.

CCLA will:

• work towards eliminating stigma by encouraging an open and welcoming environment where mental health is discussed in a positive and non‑judgemental way
• provide information and services needed to support good mental health for all employees
• recognise that everyone has mental health, that maintaining good mental health can be a challenge and empower employees to manage and prioritise their own mental health and to support one another
• put mental wellbeing on a par with physical health
• ensure that mental health support is provided confidentially, with respect, and dignity
• treat people fairly and with humanity, and celebrate diversity in all its forms
• provide a psychologically safe workplace by fostering an inclusive culture, free of discrimination, bullying and harassment
• be open and responsive to requests for flexible working and job adjustment to support good employee mental health and prevent ill health
• regularly monitor our performance, assess progress and take action to improve how we support our most important asset, our people.

CCLA commits to all its people to be a workplace where individuals can achieve their potential, cope with daily pressures, thrive and be productive. 

Employee wellbeing policy

Introduction

CCLA has developed an employee wellbeing policy to manage its obligations to maintain the mental health and wellbeing of all staff. It covers the organisation's commitment to employee health, the responsibilities of managers and others for maintaining psychological health, the range of support available for the maintenance of mental health, and organisational commitment to handling individual issues.

Objectives

The aim of this policy is to describe CCLA’s commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of employees in its broadest, holistic sense, setting out how the organisation fulfils its legal obligations, the responsibilities of different functions and specialists and the range of services available to help employees maintain health and wellbeing. CCLA recognises that wellbeing and performance are linked. Improving employees' ability to handle pressure and to balance work and home life will ultimately lead to improved individual and organisational performance.

Organisational commitment

CCLA has legal obligations under health and safety legislation to manage risks to the health and safety of employees. In addition to reducing safety risks, this means operating the business in a way that minimises harm to employees' mental health, for example by ensuring that the demands of jobs are not unacceptable and having policies and procedures in place to support individuals experiencing mental ill health at work.

CCLA will put in place measures to prevent and manage risks to employee wellbeing, together with appropriate training and individual support. It will also seek to foster a mentally healthy culture by incorporating these principles into line manager training and running regular initiatives to raise awareness of mental health issues at work.

Responsibilities

Organisation

CCLA has a legal duty of care to employees to ensure health at work, as set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The organisation will ensure that its policies and practices reflect this duty and review the operation of these documents at regular intervals.

Line managers

Line managers will put in place measures to minimise the risks to employee wellbeing, particularly from negative pressure at work. Managers must familiarise themselves with the Health and Safety Executive's stress management standards, and use these to mitigate psychological risks in their teams. For example, managers should ensure that employees understand their role within the team and receive the necessary information and support from managers and team members to do their job. Managers must also familiarise themselves with the organisation's policies on diversity and tackling inappropriate behaviour in order to support staff, for example on bullying and harassment issues.

In particular, line managers must ensure that they take steps to reduce the risks to employee health and wellbeing by:

• Ensuring that the right people are recruited to the right jobs and that a good match is obtained between individuals recruited and job descriptions/specifications.
• Keeping employees in the team up to date with developments at work and how these might affect their job and workload.
• Ensuring that employees know who to approach with problems concerning their role and how to pursue issues with senior management.
• Making sure jobs are designed fairly and that work is allocated appropriately between teams.
• Ensuring that work stations are regularly assessed to ensure that they are appropriate and fit for purpose.

Human resources

The HR department will develop organisation-wide policies and procedures to protect the wellbeing of employees, assist line managers in supporting individuals, and liaise as appropriate with occupational health and other medical professionals, with the object of helping employees to maintain good psychological health.

Access to occupational health

CCLA has provided access to occupational health professionals who will provide a comprehensive service designed to help employees stay in work, or to return to work, after experiencing mental health problems. This will include preparing medical assessments of individuals' fitness for work following referrals from the HR department, liaising with GPs and working with individuals to help them to retain employment.

A referral to the occupational health team will be made if this is considered appropriate after an employee's initial discussion with their manager or the HR department. Discussions between employees and the occupational health professionals are confidential, although the occupational health team is likely to provide a report on the employee's fitness to work, and any recommended adaptations to the working environment, to the HR department.

Employee assistance programme

CCLA provides all employees with access to external employee assistance services (currently Health Insured).

Employees

Employees must take responsibility for managing their own health and wellbeing, by adopting good health behaviours (for example in relation to diet, alcohol consumption and smoking) and informing the organisation if they believe work or the work environment poses a risk to their health. Any health-related information disclosed by an employee during discussions with managers, the HR department or the occupational health service is treated in confidence.

If employees believe that their work, or some aspect of it, is putting their wellbeing at risk they should, in the first instance, speak to their line manager or the HR department. The discussion should cover workload and other aspects of job demands, and raise issues such as identified training needs.

Health promotion initiatives

CCLA will develop and run a range of health promotion initiatives designed to raise awareness of health and lifestyle issues affecting mental health and wellbeing. The HR department will have primary responsibility for leading these programmes, but line managers and employees will be expected to participate. These programmes will be evaluated to determine their effectiveness.

Training

Line managers and employees will regularly discuss individual training needs to ensure that employees have the necessary skills to adapt to ever-changing job demands. An examination of training needs will be particularly important prior to, and during, periods of organisational change.

Health promotion initiatives

Other measures available to support employees in maintaining health and wellbeing include:

• an employee assistance programme
• a mental health first-aid programme
• procedures for reporting and handling inappropriate behaviour (for example bullying and harassment)
• subsidised gym/sports facilities
• a lifestyle management programme
• a stress management/handling pressure programme
• special leave arrangements
• opportunities for flexible working
• support for workers with disabilities
• the organisation's grievance policy.

Relationship with other policies

This employee wellbeing policy should be read in conjunction with other policies and procedures covering attendance and health, including policies on work-life balance, stress, special leave, flexible working, the management of short and long-term absence, sick pay, bullying and harassment, equal opportunities and employee training and development.

HR and line managers must ensure that personal data, including information about individuals' health, is handled in accordance with CCLA’s Data Protection Policy.

June 2024