Housing provider recognised for health and safety standards

Trowbridge-based housing provider Selwood Housing Group has been recognised for its health and safety performance, including tackling stress-related absence in the workplace.

The not-for-profit company was handed a Silver in the internationally recognised RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK, earlier this month.

Fee Nunn, head of health, safety and facilities at Selwood Housing Group, said: “We constantly review what we do to try and achieve best practice in health, safety and wellbeing, so it’s fantastic to be recognised in this way by RoSPA.

“In the last two years we’ve worked particularly hard supporting staff mental health and wellbeing, perhaps not commonly thought of in the context of accident prevention. However good mental health is key in creating safer, healthier workplaces.

“In 2016/17 we became increasingly aware of a steady rise in the number of days off employees were taking due to stress-related issues.

“Working with all parts of the business, including Silcoa, our repairs and planned maintenance company, we put in place an initiative to halt this rise, whilst also focusing on impacting the longer-term culture of the organisation.

“The results have been very successful, with a 95 percent reduction in stress-related absence in a year-on-year comparison between August 2017 and August 2018.

”The initiative for improving mental health is just a small part of what we do as an organisation. This award is testament to the hard work and commitment of all our employees, who all play a role in keeping each other and customers safe and well.”