Worcestershire Works Well

Worcestershire Works Well is a free accreditation scheme designed to support businesses to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees. Improved employee health and wellbeing has been shown repeatedly to improve profitability and productivity of businesses.

The Worcestershire Works Well brand-new framework was launched at the start of September 2020, with three levels of accreditation that an organisation can work towards. Businesses that are interested in finding out more are encouraged to email Admin@worcestershire.gov.uk for further information.

PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND BETTER HEALTH CAMPAIGN

Capitalising on the opportunity to inspire healthy changes across the nation, Public Health England first launched the Better Health campaign in July and encouraged the nation to eat better and get more active. 2021 offers another unique opportunity to motivate, galvanise and encourage adults to make a positive change, at a time when new research reveals that eight in ten adults plan to make at least one change to their health and wellbeing in 2021. Therefore Public Health England are running a new Better Health campaign activity, showing the public simple steps they can take to help them feel better: In addition to the resources already created for the launch of Better Health, Public Health England have made a range of new resources available to help encourage people to make a change. All these can be downloaded from the Public Health England Campaign Resource Centre:

www.campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/ resources.

LOCAL SCHOOL BECOMES FIRST OF ITS KIND TO ACHIEVE HEALTH AND WELLBEING ACCREDITATION

Worcestershire Works Well is delighted to confirm that St Bede’s School has achieved Level 2 accreditation. Due to their hard work to support health and wellbeing during a challenging year they are the first school to have achieved the accreditation. On their award of the accreditation, Hayley Farbrother, Art Co-ordinator at St Bede’s, commented: “We believe that School staff wellbeing is fundamental in the job that we do, it’s so important that staff feel good in themselves and feel valued and supported. This in turn, having a strong positive impact on the wellbeing of the children they are working with, allowing children to flourish and achieve their full potential. Worcestershire Works Well has really helped St Bede’s focus on what staff need and how we can support them further with their wellbeing.” There are three levels which your organisation can work towards, starting from Level 1. To obtain the accreditation organisations are required to meet the criteria for 8 core standards plus at least one additional standard. Those core standards include environment and culture, leadership and management, mental health and more.

L+R Mrs Kate Gallinagh, Assistant Principal & Mrs Hayley Farbrother, Art Co-ordinator and Worcestershire Works Well Champion.

FULL HOUSE FOR 2021’S FIRST VIRTUAL WORCESTERSHIRE WORKS WELL BI-ANNUAL EVENT

January saw the first bi-annual Worcestershire Works Well event take place virtually, hosted by the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce. The virtual event saw several keynote speakers including representatives from Worcestershire County Council, Global Vice President at Jacobs, Paul Hendry, Director of Sutcliffe & Co Duncan Sutcliffe, Payara Services’ HR Director Julia Millidge and Chair of Bishop Fleming Ian Smith with Tax Manager Dan Pitt from Bishop Fleming. The event was rounded off with congratulations to all of the newly accredited Level 1 and Level 2 businesses: Level 1 – AKW, Grupo Antolin, Payara Services Ltd and St Bede’s Catholic Middle School. Level 2 – International Glazing Services Limited, Vision Labs and St Bede’s Catholic Middle School. The event was a huge success and covered topics relating to leadership and influencing workplace health and wellbeing. Feedback from the event was extremely positive with guests praising the interactivity of the event and the quality of information being presented.

Worcestershire Works Well is a free accreditation scheme designed to support businesses to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees. Improved employee health and wellbeing has been shown repeatedly to improve profitability and productivity of businesses. To find out more information regarding the scheme and accreditation please visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk/worcestershireworkswell.

How will we work in the future?

We know that 2020 has changed many aspects of working life for ever, at least for many office-based businesses – our own research at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, in our Future Workspaces report, looking at attitudes before and after the first lockdown has confirmed this.

Homeworking and who it works for, the real functions of the office and how we will work in the future are issues many employers are facing. What does an employer need to take into account, now that technology has taken work right to the kitchen table, with all the risks and benefits that brings?

What do home workers need?

The rush to supply IT equipment to remote workers extended in some case to employers making sure that their employees had the kind of equipment they could routinely expect in the office; one employer supplied an orthopaedic chair to a member of staff with a bad back. This is line with the duty of care an employer owes their employees, even if they work from home, and that extends to both physical and mental health. If your business is going to support home working more regularly now, you need to have a home working policy to set out the arrangements between you and your employees. It can cover the practical issues - will staff use their home telephone or will they have a work mobile? Who will pay for what? If you’re dealing with confidential documents, you might want to have more control over a home worker, for instance.

Cyber challenges

The shift to home working proved fruitful for cyber-attackers. Barracuda, which has been monitoring global Covid-19related phishing activity ranging from phishing attempts, malicious attachments and links to malware or ransomware strains, saw a rise in incidents from 137 in Jan 2020 to 9,116 in March 2020. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), update your policy to cover remote access and use of personal devices, check your insurance covers homeworking and regularly remind employees of the correct procedures.

Lockdown has changed what we want from our homes – it’s likely to have the same effect on how we feel about our Nearly half of renters (49%) office space. and over a third of buyers According to data from property firm Rightmove, nearly half of renters (49%) and over a third of buyers (39%) (39%) currently in the market currently in the market say lockdown has changed what they’re looking for in their next home. The top six attributes say lockdown has changed both buyers and renters want from their new home include what they’re looking for in more space, a better home workspace, a garden or access to green space, and access to parking or a garage. their next home. For landlords and tenants of commercial properties, the pandemic has hit hard and has illustrated the importance of good communication on both sides. It is hard not to sympathise with businesses who have faced lost revenue, but many landlords will have felt hard done by during the pandemic in being unable to pursue non-payment of rent in the usual way. If tenants can’t pay, they should be transparent and discuss alternative solutions, continue paying service charges and insurance, remember that they remain liable for all obligations, and use any Government support payments to pay arrears. Landlords should make reasonable concessions, or explain refusals, consider rent-free periods, deferrals, stop interest, change schedules, and use deposits. With much commercial property likely to be affected by a new hybrid working approach, many businesses will keep a physical office with the majority of employees working flexibly between the office and home. So, the design of offices will need to focus on encouraging creativity, team cohesion, support, drive and inclusion, enabling people to work wherever is most appropriate and productive for the tasks in hand.

Your future plans

Whatever direction your business takes in the future, you are likely to be reassessing your property requirements and the way that your team needs to work. You may need to look at your commercial leases, to raise finance for your innovations or adaptations or to simply ensure that your workforce is ready for the challenges ahead.