TWO LOCAL businesses have been presented with Gold Wellbeing at Work Awards.
Servomex, from Crowborough, and Affinity Select Insurance Services Ltd, from Uckfield, are the first businesses in East Sussex to reach the gold standard in the county council’s healthier workplaces programme.
The companies were presented with their awards yesterday at the second annual Wellbeing at Work Conference and Awards Ceremony in Eastbourne.
Over 30 businesses from across the county came together on Thursday, February 8 to recognise and celebrate their commitment to developing healthier and happier workforces.
East Sussex County Council’s Wellbeing at Work Programme was launched in the autumn of 2021.
The scheme provides an accreditation scheme and works with employers to share resources and deliver training to help boost the health and wellbeing of employees.
To achieve awards, companies must complete a set of criteria that introduce policies and initiatives which focus on embedding practices that promote and support workplace health and wellbeing.
Crowborough based manufacturer Servomex signed up to the awards shortly after they were launched and after successfully achieving bronze and silver awards, gained their gold award in September last year.
Julie Burridge, Health and Wellbeing Manager at Servomex, said: “We are delighted to have received the Gold Wellbeing at Work Award. Servomex have worked hard over many years to create a culture where the health and wellbeing of our employees is the most important priority.
“The Gold Award has helped us to realise our achievement by evidencing what we have achieved over the years in terms of our Wellbeing Programme but to also point us in the direction of other wellbeing initiatives and topics which we may not have considered.”
Uckfield’s Affinity Select Insurance Services Limited achieved the Wellbeing at Work Small Business Gold Award in November 2023. This follows on from their achievement of the Commitment Award in September 2022, and Small Business Bronze and Silver Awards in January and July last year.
Jenny Carter-Vaughan, Managing Director at Affinity Select Insurance Services Limited, said: “Affinity Select Insurance Services believe that if we look after our staff, then they will look after our customers.
“Health and Wellbeing is an important part of who we are and what we do, so we were delighted to get involved with the Awards. The whole team got involved and worked to make this a success, so the Gold Award is a big achievement for everyone who works in the business.”
Entry level Commitment Awards as well as Bronze and Silver Awards were also presented at the celebration event.
Sussex Housing & Care is a not-for-profit care and social housing organisation providing affordable housing, support and care home services for older people across East and West Sussex. The company gained a Silver Wellbeing at Work award in December 2023.
Debbe Wordley, HR Manager at Sussex Housing & Care, said: “We entered the Wellbeing Award scheme to showcase how we look after our staff, what benefits they can have access to and what additional services we offer within the organisation to ensure our staff feel appreciated.
“Obtaining the Bronze award last year was a great achievement for the organisation, being the first care home organisation to gain this, and now we have been given the Silver Award showing that we continue to take our staff’s wellbeing seriously.”
Hastings based Let’s Do Business Group was recently awarded their Small Business Bronze Award for implementing an Employee Assistance Programme and offering a mental health awareness workshop to all staff, as well as conducting a health and wellbeing survey to understand what to prioritise.
Graham Marley, Let’s Do Business Group’s CEO, said: “We achieved the Small Business Bronze Award in January 2023, and the award has helped us focus on the wellbeing of our team and given us the opportunity to improve our systems and practices.
“We were already doing a lot in terms of wellbeing, but the programme gave us a good framework that enabled us to enhance what we were already doing to support colleagues.”
Darrell Gale, Director of Public Health for East Sussex, said: “I am delighted at the number of local businesses who are showing their commitment to healthier workplaces and workforces by joining the council’s Wellbeing at Work programme.
“We spend a huge proportion of our time at work, so employers play a key role in contributing to the health of their employees. Having a productive and healthy workforce should be the aim of every organisation, especially as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic which has had such a huge impact on business and the wellbeing of employees.
“I would encourage all local businesses, both large and small, to sign up to the scheme.”
More information about the programme, including details of accredited businesses and how organisations can get involved, can be found at www.wellbeingatwork.eastsussex.gov.uk.