Health and wellbeing on the agenda at Daventry District Council

Daventry District Council has been recognised for its commitment towards the physical and mental health and wellbeing of its staff.
Daventry District CouncilDaventry District Council
Daventry District Council

The council recently became the first authority in the county to achieve the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, a nationally-recognised status awarded to organisations which demonstrate a commitment to the health and wellbeing of their staff.

Achievement of the charter, which is endorsed by Public Health England, shows the council meets a set of standards covering leadership, absence management, alcohol and substance misuse, smoking, mental health, healthy eating and physical activity.

DDC’s deputy chief executive Simon Bovey said: “As a council, we work towards a set of organisational values which aim to place the customer at the heart of everything we do. In order to achieve that, we work hard to provide a supportive and productive environment in which employees can flourish.

“The assessor identified a range of good work that has been carried out to improve workplace wellbeing and we are pleased to become the first local authority in the county to achieve the Workplace Wellbeing Charter.

“Working through the charter’s assessment process also helped us to identify and reflect on our work towards helping to end mental health discrimination. The action plan we have put together as part of our Time to Change pledge has helped to identify where we can do better and we look forward to putting this into practice in the coming months.”

The council has also signed up to the Time to Change Employer Pledge campaign, run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness charities, which is aiming to change the way we think about mental health.

DDC’s sign-up to the employer pledge also reinforces its commitment to developing a supportive culture, particularly addressing any factors that might affect the mental wellbeing of staff. As part of the pledge, the council has drawn up an action plan describing the practical things it will do towards achieving this, including staff training and support.

Other organisations interested in signing up to the Workplace Wellbeing Charter or Time to Change campaign can find out more at here and here.

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