Lancashire Mind seeks example businesses

Lancashire Mind, the mental health charity, is seeking employers to contribute to its first Workplace Wellbeing conference.

Time to Talk About Wellbeing at Work aims to raise awareness of the value of workplace wellbeing, and promote the business case for supporting it, following the revelation that mental health related illnesses are the leading cause of absence from work.

New data extracted by NHS Digital from GP practices shows 31 per cent of all fit notes issued between December 2014 and March 2017 were mental health related. Remploy estimates poor mental health already costs UK employers £26bn each year.

The full day conference, held at the Preston Marriott Hotel on February 8, is being organised by Lancashire Mind in partnership with Lancashire Care Foundation Trust.

To help provide simple and practical steps for employers from all sizes of business, the organisers are now seeking local employers who are willing to share their experiences achieving wellbeing at work by undertaking an employer talk.

Each Employer Talk will run for around 15 minutes on one specific piece of good practice, offering inspiration and providing something others can learn from and translate into their own workplace.

Lancashire Mind said it hoped the conference will help achieve the aspirational vision for Lancashire to be the beacon for mental wellbeing in the UK.

Lauren Oakland, interim chief executive at Lancashire Mind, said: "This conference will provide a unique opportunity for Lancashire Employers to learn from each other’s experiences, enabling implementation of simple strategies that make a real difference to employee mental health and business performance." Employers interested in attending, contributing or exhibiting at the event should email admin@lancashiremind.org.uk for more information. Delegate tickets are available from Eventbrite.