Our Breathe Better promises include taking steps to improve the air that we all breathe and to help reduce illness in your workplace and in your local community. For example, you could support and enable staff to drive less to reduce pollution, signpost people who want to quit smoking to the free support that makes it much more likely they will succeed, and encourage people to get vaccinated against flu and covid.
1. We will make our premises a smoke free zone, including outdoor areas.
This might include: ensuring work vehicles are smoke-free, ensuring compliance with Smokefree legislation, that outdoor smoking breaks are taken off premises or at least 7 steps away from doorways to reduce smoke drifting in.
2. We will encourage staff who wish to stop smoking to access support and let them know they are much more likely to succeed in quitting with the help that is available.
This might include signposting staff to our Living Well Stop Smoking service, allowing staff members time from work to attend smoking cessation sessions or even inviting our Living Well stop smoking service to your workplace site if you have a lot of staff who smoke tobacco.
3. We commit to increasing the amount of in-work travel which is by electric vehicle or active travel (walking, cycling, using public transport).
This might include highlighting the benefits to staff and our workplace of reducing pollution and saving money on our mileage, purchasing or renting electric cars, e-bikes or cargo-bikes, offering equivalent reimbursement or incentives for staff to switch their in-work mileage to active travel including public transport.
4. We will support staff to walk or cycle, rather than drive to work.
This might include signing up to and promoting our Living Well 20 Minute Movement campaign; installing electric charging points for staff use, creating staff incentives or competitions related to walking or cycling, ensuring staff understand the health of getting active, reducing pollution and saving money, offering equal reimbursement for active travel mileage, registering for and promoting cycle to work schemes, so your employees can access tax free bikes and cycling equipment for commuting and home use.
5. We will provide secure cycle storage for visitors and customers.
6. We will make it easier for staff to walk or bike to work by introducing or improving shower, changing and cycle and clothing storage for staff.
You may wish to do some research with staff first to find out about potential demand and to see what they think about the current facilities (if any) and what would make them more likely to use them.
7. We will encourage staff to be protected against vaccine-preventable respiratory infections, such as Flu and COVID-19.
This could include offering vaccinations on site or providing vaccination vouchers to staff who aren’t eligible for free NHS vaccinations. You could also offer staff paid time from work to attend appointments and promote the importance of vaccinations.
Now that you know more, we hope you are ready to sign up to the Living Well Workplace Promise for employers in the Bradford District We will use our Workplace Wellbeing newsletter to provide you with news, tips and resources to help keep you and your workplace as healthy as can be.
