Wiltshire Council uses funds to help improve workplace wellbeing

Wiltshire Council has awarded £160,950 to four providers to help employees struggling with mental health and wellbeing at work.

The project, which is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) as part of the sustainment element of the programme, will run until 31 March 2025.

Grants were awarded to Help Counselling, Wiltshire Mind, Open Mind Training and Consultancy and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to provide preventative and early intervention methods to support mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

This will ultimately support people’s ability to maintain working lives, reduce ill-health caused by poor mental health and promote positive well-being in the workplace.

Each supplier will offer their own bespoke programme, but all will be aimed at businesses in Wiltshire. The focus will be on small businesses and micro-enterprises that may not have the internal infrastructure, such as an HR department or occupational health team, to support staff in this way.

Support will target employees in routine and manual roles, which are often hard to reach, 16-25 year olds and rural businesses.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “These days we are all more aware of our mental health and wellbeing, particularly in the workplace, so we want people to know that there is always support available for those who are struggling.

“This funding will give local businesses the knowledge and practical tools they need to help them improve their mental wellbeing and I hope local businesses will take advantage of these programs to improve the health of their employees.

“It is a key priority in our business plan to help residents prioritize and optimize their mental health and wellbeing, and this is just one of the initiatives we are implementing to make this a reality.”

Help Counseling will offer a program called Thriving at Work: The Workplaces Counseling Programme, which offers one-on-one counseling for people who are employed and struggling with mental health issues. People will be offered up to eight free sessions and these can be delivered either face-to-face or online.

Wiltshire Mind will use preventative methods, early intervention and individual counseling for people with mental health needs. Planned prevention methods offered include accredited training in mental health awareness, mental health first aid and Mental Health Champion training.

Similarly, Open Minds Training and Consultancy will provide both preventative and early intervention methods, including mental health awareness training and mental health first aid training. Businesses will also be given access to a library of digital support films covering a variety of common mental health issues. The videos can be used as an additional tool for trained mental health first responders to support people in the business they work with.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust will deliver a program called Wild Workplaces, which focuses on both preventative and early intervention methods. Their preventative methods include open engagement sessions to get people talking about mental health in the workplace, identifying the benefits of businesses investing in mental health support systems and generally raising awareness around the topic. Businesses will also be offered mental health first aid training, enabling employees to support colleagues who may be experiencing mental health issues.

Any company interested in receiving any of the above assistance should contact the provider directly.

For more information on mental health and wellbeing people can visit: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/1407/Mental-health-and-wellbeing