City Hall Celebrates Companies Who Show Commitment To Healthy Staff

November 23, 2018

Businesses in London showing outstanding dedication to the health and wellbeing of their staff have been recognised in a special ceremony at City Hall on 19 November.

More than 50 businesses and organisations from across the capital had their commitment and investment in employee welfare celebrated last night as they were awarded the London Healthy Workplace Charter, supported by the Mayor of London.

Some 27.3 million working days are lost each year in London because of sickness absence or injury and an estimated 914,300 adults of working age in the capital are affected by mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, costing London’s businesses and industries £10.4 billion each year.

The Mayor is committed to ensuring employers across the capital are provided with clear and easy guidance on how to improve their workplaces to enable their staff to flourish.

The London Healthy Workplace Charter helps organisations address some of the biggest challenges businesses face, including recruitment and staff retention, sickness absence and employee productivity.

Organisations are encouraged to address these challenges by developing wellbeing programmes across a wide range of areas, including mental health support, tackling smoking, alcohol and substance misuse, improving physical activity and promoting healthy eating.

At the evening ceremony on 19 November, representatives from organisations including Leon, Queens Park Primary and the Francis Crick Institute were presented with their awards by Shalah Akhtar, a mental health advocate and head of PWC’s Muslim Network.

In total 243 organisations are now accredited, with more than 326,000 Londoners currently benefiting from the charter.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Londoners are our city’s greatest asset and our health and wellbeing is vital in making London the fast-paced and successful city it is. These businesses and organisations understand that a healthy and supportive working environment not only empowers employees to give their best, it actually improves productivity. That’s why I’m so pleased to see that record numbers are signing up to the Charter.”

The South East London Chamber of Commerce is an accredited Healthy Workplace employer.