About the Award

For too long, the North East has had a reputation for being of being an ‘unhealthy’ place to live and work; unfortunately borne out by our fairly shocking life expectancy rate and high long-term sickness and disability figures.

To help combat this, a partnership project unique to the North East was created and the Better Health at Work Award was established to take health and wellbeing into the workplace.

This partnership has now been taken forward by the Northern TUC, with the support and endorsement from Public Health England.

Workplace Health is an important and integral part of the regional public health strategy and is even more relevant in these challenging times, when companies need to use every tool available to ensure their productivity and competitiveness.

With more than 400 regional employers participating in the scheme so far, as well as the very favourable findings of at least two independent evaluations, both the need for and effectiveness of the Award for all concerned is clear.

Individuals benefit from increased access to health information and interventions where they wouldn't normally - in more than one instance, workplace activity generated by the Award has potentially saved lives - identifying dangerously high cholesterol levels and early stage cancers.

At the same time, employers benefit from improved morale, dramatically lower levels of absenteeism and increased productivity. There are few more apparent win-win situations.

You can download and view the Better Health at Work Award Employer Guide below, to read more on the award process, the structure of the award and find out about the role of health advocates.

Employer Guide

Firstly, and most importantly, we recognise the benefits of supporting the wellbeing of our staff and secondly, as a charity it’s great to get some recognition for what we do.

The process is strong as it leads the organisation through a series of logical steps to the award. Staff have really engaged in the process and it’s a great motivator for staff.

- Willow Burn Hospice, Durham

At the time of enrolling on the BHAWA SUEZ did not have any health strategies in place. We started off on a blank canvas and were given the freedom by the plant manager to run our first campaigns. The wider business soon caught on and we now have an amazing wellness for all charter and Wellbeing and Inclusion Manager.

It gave us the starting point to a wider company movement and now wellness is a hot topic for the whole business. Enrolling every year onto a new level gives the site its focus and an end aim of achieving the award. The award recognises good work we do, and we also received the special recognition award in 2022.

- SUEZ TeesValley, Stockton

We joined the scheme to help us improve the health & wellbeing of our workforce not only at work but also at home. The campaigns and areas that we cover are varied and we try to include the workforces family and friends wherever possible.

The award is very well structured there is lots of information on the BHAWA website and we have lots of help at support. It has ensured that our organisations' Health & Wellbeing agenda is structured and well thought out.

- North East & North Cumbria ICB , North Tyneside

The wellbeing of our colleagues is incredibly important to us. As an organisation we understand the impact and benefit a good wellbeing strategy brings. We also believe that wellbeing has to be an ongoing campaign, the focus has to be constant not just something you write about in a policy or the provision of good flexible benefits. The award provided structure for us to formulate that strategy and annual activities plans force us to think about a variety of offerings and initiatives.

It provides structure, idea and something to work towards. It helps us to think about better ways to engage people in what we do.

- Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe, North Tyneside

At the plant, we really wanted to support our Employees Health and Wellbeing as we transitioned back to normal business, following the Global Pandemic. This award provided us with the structure we needed to develop and launch the Health and Wellbeing plant wide strategy.

Not only does the award provide us with a criteria and structure to follow, it also allows us to focus on topics which we may not have considered previously. In addition, it provides us a network with other local businesses to allow us to benchmark and share best practices.

- Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, Sunderland

We wanted to help and support our employees by giving them access to tools, resources and information to improve their health – physically and mentally, both in the workplace and in their personal lives.

We have really enjoyed participating in the award over the years. It allows the team of Health Advocates to show our creative side and brings people across both sites together, fostering a sense of community within the organisation. It also shows our employees that we care for their wellbeing by focusing on the topics that matter to them most.

- Seqens Custom Specialties , Middlesbrough