Award Criteria

There are 5 levels to the Award – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Continuing Excellence and Maintaining Excellence, with appropriate criteria at each stage to build into an Award Portfolio.  Organisations are given up to a year per level, but there is flexibility for those who need it.

Evidence indicates that it takes a period of time to effectively establish the infrastructure that will engage employees in adopting behaviours / lifestyle changes.


This is why ALL employers are required to begin at Bronze and progress systematically upwards through the levels.  Every employer/ organisation who signs-up to participate in the Award scheme is supported by a dedicated Health Improvement Specialist.

 

     

 

 Bronze - The Bronze level lays a firm foundation to build a healthier workplace. 

 

 Silver - The Silver level of the Award builds upon the basics of the Bronze level and rewards organisations that take a more holistic view of the workplace.

 

 Gold - This level builds upon the Silver level and requires companies to look outside their own organisation and promote health within the wider community.

 

 Continuing Excellence - This recognises the importance of organisations sustaining the progress they have made during their participation in the Award and encourages them to use their experience to support others.

 

 Maintaining Excellence - Achieved by employers who have been engaged with the Award for long enough to have achieved a pass at all levels via the completion of a criteria document, portfolio and full workplace assessment.   

 

 Ambassador Status - Organisations are eligible for Ambassador Status on achievement of Maintaining Excellence and with the recommendation of their designated Workplace Health Improvement Specialist. This is then passed through to the BHAWA Verification Panel for endorsement.

 

 

 

Our Hospice values the health and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers and the award is a fantastic way to be able to formalise our approach and provide a structure and focus to delivering health and wellbeing campaigns to our workforce.

The award has helped us to plan and focus more strategically on our priorities for campaigns and events with regards to health and wellbeing, following the structure provided by the award and with support from our workplace health lead.

- St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Durham

The award is a declaration of our commitment to building a healthy and happy workplace culture for every employee. Designing a positive and engaging health and wellbeing offer where health inequalities are reduced is so important to us and we know we will achieve this with the support of BHAWA.

The award process provides structure for Better Health at Work. It provides support, guidance and networking opportunities to learn and improve. The opportunity to collaborate and hear about others practice across the region is always inspiring, we always come away buzzing with ideas.

- Sunderland City Council, Maintaining Excellence level

We wanted to engage with our employees and provide a platform for everyone to improve their health and wellbeing at work but also support their families at home.

It has provided a focus for our Health & Wellbeing activities in the workplace and the support / information we receive from our workplace health leads has been invaluable in helping shape different campaigns rolled out across the business.

- Gardner Aerospace, Consett

The award is beneficial to the organisation as it prompts us to think outside the box, extend our health and wellbeing support into new and important areas that we might not necessarily touch upon usually; and it also holds us to account for conducting high quality, meaningful campaigns.

We joined the Award to ensure that our health and wellbeing work goes above and beyond the requirements outlined by the NHS health and wellbeing framework, helping to ensure that we support our colleagues across a variety of areas and that we can demonstrate excellence in doing so.

- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Bronze 2021

We wanted to be able to share wellbeing initiatives we were proud of but at the same time receive feedback on anything that was missing or could be enhanced.

Love being part of the Award process - gives structure to our wellbeing plans for the year and showcases the amazing work our people do to support each other and our teams.

- EDF Energy, Sunderland

We wanted to improve employee engagement in health and wellbeing as it’s the right thing to do as a business and may also contribute to improvement in morale, a better people culture, and reduction in sickness absence levels in the long term.

As a business running this award, it shows we are committed to employee health and wellbeing and it improves employee engagement.

- Port of Tyne , North and South Tyneside
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