Health, safety and well-being
It is our intent to provide a safe and healthy workplace, with adequate prevention and controls of health and safety risks arising from business activities in order to minimise accidents, injury or ill health. While we recognise that the nature of our business is low risk in relation to health and safety, we still focus on ensuring we meet or exceed local legislative requirements in all locations.
RWS has a Health and Safety Policy, which covers all colleagues and locations where the Group operates and commits to complying with local legislation in all jurisdictions.
We have established a Health and Safety Committee to consider, manage and report on health and safety matters to the RWS Board. It is chaired by a member of the Executive Team, meets quarterly and has cross-functional representation in its membership, including the CFO.
In FY23 there were seven work-based accidents reported amongst our colleagues globally.
With the majority of our colleagues now working on a remote or hybrid basis, we provide ongoing training and guidance on home workspace ergonomics including correct display screen equipment set up, lighting and posture. We are confident these efforts will deliver ongoing value as we now operate hybrid working more permanently in most locations.
We continued to develop a comprehensive programme of communication and activities to support mental health and well-being across our colleague base during FY23. This activity is communicated through our global well-being portal which includes a wide range of resources on stress management, meditation and virtual yoga, as well as ongoing guidance to managers on how to spot the signs of mental ill-health within their teams, and resources for them to support colleagues finding themselves in need.
As a part of our ongoing mental health and wellness focus, all colleagues have access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). Our global EAP provides practical information (financial planning, childcare support, well-being and more) as well as counselling on a variety of topics, and is available to colleagues and their household.
Launched last year, our EAP has seen increased usage year-on-year. Overall engagement with resources on the site currently stands at 20.6%, up from 8.6% for the same period last year.
Actively managed cases, typically mental health support, stand at 99 (FY22: 55). We attribute the increased usage to the natural process of awareness building over time rather than any particular cause for concern as our usage patterns are compatible with external benchmarks, but we continue to monitor it closely now the EAP is fully embedded.
