First NHS Trust in West Yorkshire to be officially ‘improving working lives’

The South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust has been recognised for how it helps staff have a healthy work life balance.

The Trust, which employs 2400 staff, is the first NHS Trust in West Yorkshire to be awarded the Improving Working Lives (IWL) Practice Plus Accreditation.

IWL is a requirement from the Department of Health which all NHS Trusts must try and obtain. Trusts are measured against a set of stringent standards which aim to help improve the working lives of their staff. Practice Plus is the third and highest stage of the IWL accreditation.

As part of Practice Plus, the Trust was measured against a set of seven standards. They were: • Human Resources Strategy and Management • Equality and Diversity • Staff Involvement and Communication • Flexible Working • Healthy Workplace • Training and Development • Flexible Retirement, Childcare and Support for Carers.

The Trust was particularly commended for implementing flexible working options and its commitment to training and development for all staff.

Trust HR manager, Ashley Hambling, who led the IWL process said, "This is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved and we’re delighted to be accredited. The aim of the work is to ensure that Trust staff have access to a supportive working environment which encourages their ongoing development and recognises the contribution they make to the delivery of services.”

"The team who visited the Trust to assess our work acknowledged the excellent examples of good practice in a number of areas. This will support our work to ensure the IWL standards are applied consistently in all areas of the Trust and that we remains a good organisation to work for."