In appreciation of its Sickness reduction programme, Royal Mail has been bestowed upon with an award by the Department of Health. Royal Mail has been presented the award in recognition of the fact that it has successfully implemented a sickness reduction programme which helped reduce the sickness levels by 7% in the last one year thereby saving £15 million for the organization.

In recognition of the programme, Royal Mail was awarded the ‘Healthy Workplace Award’. The constituents of the programme included provision of health screenings, provision of nutrition and wellbeing information, and health advice to employees; a confidential helpline, online screening and a facility to provide one to one counselling if required. The wellbeing programme successfully fulfilled its objective of covering as many as 15000 workers and their family members.

Head of corporate responsibility and engagement services at Royal Mail, Mr Adam Bowles feels that winning this award shows the importance that the company gives to its employees’ health. Mr Bowles also felt that the company has been able to provide a good health and wellbeing programme for its employees by acting in conjunction with Atos Healthcare, which has helped the company accomplish this task more efficiently.

Director of Health and Wellbeing in the Department of Health, Dr Will Cavendish who was one of the judges for the Healthy Workplace Award congratulated Royal Mail for their accomplishments and said that the company has showcased their leadership and commitment towards achieving excellence in this field. He felt that Royal Mail’s programme was a result of thinking out of the box and is worthy of being replicated by other companies. The Certificate in Employment Relations, Law and Practice (CERLAP) is designed to help those who are involved in HR/personnel activities to implement effective HR policies around employment relations and get-to-grips with the key issues that impact on employment practice.

Dr Cavendish also added that the judges involved in the selection procedure were particularly influenced by the vast reach and positive implications of the programme, especially during a time when restructuring is the order of the day.