Commitment 1. create safe working environments which are continuously improving and support health and well-being

It’s important to take a broad approach to support people’s physical health and safety, mental health, and financial well-being.

Organisations should provide safe working environments for employees.

Organisations should offer to help, or refer or signpost to services that can provide support. This could include counselling, an employee assistance programme or occupational health services. Organisations should encourage staff to have a good self-care routine which includes a healthy approach to diet, physical activity, relaxation and sleep. Staff should have good access to services who can help with financial advice.

It’s important that managers have guidance they need to support their teams, so they can have sensitive conversations with the people they manage and signpost to expert help when needed. Anyone who shares information about a health condition will be treated fairly and with compassion, and have equal career opportunities.

This links to the:

• Code of Practice for Social Care employers, section 5.7
• Code of Professional Practice for Social Care workers, sections 1.5 and 4.5

In an organisation this means:

• a culture of well-being
• understand that what happens in our lives affects us in our work
• recognising the signs of work-related stress and burnout
• recognising and supporting staff with long-term conditions to do their job
• promote well-being, for staff and for the people they work with, through policies, procedures and ways of working
• access to occupational health
• providing the right equipment for the job
• signposting to or providing emotional support, including peer support
• clear health and safety processes, for staff and for people they work with, including risk assessments
• workloads are reasonable and manageable and regularly reviewed.