British Gas is the latest organisation to pledge their support in tackling mental health discrimination in the workplace, joining some of the country’s major employers including Ernst & Young and Transport for London (TfL).
A pledge signing ceremony has taken place at the British Gas offices in Staines and representatives from the company have pledged their support to Time to Change, which is run by the mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Through this commitment British Gas will promote a better understanding of mental health problems while offering support and welfare advice to their staff.
Other individuals, groups and organisations who have also signed the Time to Change pledge include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the FA, the Premier League, universities, BT, E.On, NHS trusts, Primary Care Trusts, local authorities, Citizen’s Advice, and police forces.
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “It is fantastic that more and more organisations are showing their support in tackling the stigma experienced by people with mental health problems. Employees and their staff can all play a part in helping to stamp out stigma and companies like British Gas are taking a lead.
“Many leading companies have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only has benefits for their staff but also benefits their bottom-line, improving productivity and staff retention. With one in four people experiencing mental illness it's time for businesses to work on their approach and start creating more mentally healthy workplaces."
Angela Williams, HR Director, British Gas said: “The Time to Change partnership is part of our ongoing commitment to address and support mental health issues in the workplace. We are encouraging our people to be more open about mental health and to seek help earlier, meaning they are less likely to end up in crisis and more likely to be able to stay in work, therefore reducing instances of Mental Health related illness. Additional support that we have available for our employees, include access to an Employee Assistance Programme; an early referral system to our Occupational Health Team and the recent launch of a Resilience Toolkit.
"We have been working with the Time to Change Programme at British Gas for the last 9 months and so far we have held 13 events across the business, supporting over 1,000 colleagues all of which have been incredibly well received."
Find out more about the Time to Change pledge including how to sign up.
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For more information please contact Hayley Richardson, Time to Change Senior Media Officer, on [email protected] or 0208 2152 358/ 07789 721 966. Follow Hayley on Google+
Notes to editors
Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief.
For more information go to www.time-to-change.org.uk
Department of Health
On 2 February 2011 the Department of Health launched No health without mental health, a cross-government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages which has the twin aims of keeping people well and improving their mental health and, when people are not well, improving their outcomes through high-quality services.
The strategy is based on six shared objectives, developed with partners from across the mental health sector, and focuses on ‘Recovery’ and the reduction of stigma and discrimination as overarching themes.
To help deliver the objective to reduce the stigma faced by people with mental health problems, in 2011 the Department agreed to support Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The Department of Health is providing the campaign with up to £16 million of funding together with a further £4 million from Comic Relief. This funding will help Time to Change continue their work until March 2015.
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is committed to supporting people living with mental health problems. The projects Comic Relief funds ensure people with mental health problems get their voices heard in the decisions that affect their lives and get the help they need to recover. Comic Relief also helps people to promote their rights and reduce the stigma and discrimination they face so that they feel more included in society. The £4 million grant to Time to Change is the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant and is part of Comic Relief's long standing commitment to this issue. For more information go to www.comicrelief.com