It is important to note that the standards on workplace wellbeing referenced on this site are voluntary and not required by law.
Statutory requirements do exist which ensure employers provide a safe and healthy working environment for employees. All organisations should ensure they are fully compliant with all existing statutory requirements before developing workplace wellbeing initiatives for their organisation.
Information on statutory requirements in the workplace is available from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) of Ireland. The HSA is the national statutory body with responsibility for ensuring that those at work are protected from work related injury and ill-health. They enforce occupational health and safety law and promote accident prevention measures.
Work PositiveCI is a tool developed by the State Claims Agency (SCA), the HSA, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Network Ireland. It helps organisations to adhere to health and safety legislation and develop a health and wellbeing action plan for employees. It allows organisations to measure workplace stressors, employee psychological wellbeing, and critical incident exposure and is free to use.
Although Health & Safety is the law, try to create a workplace culture that doesn’t make it feel obligatory in nature (a ‘box ticking’ exercise) but rather use it as an opportunity to create trust with your employees, ensuring them that they can count on you to ensure their wellbeing and stay abreast of the latest health concerns.
Here are some quick resources to get you started:
Critical Incident Stress Management
CISM is an intervention protocol developed specifically for dealing with traumatic events. It is a formal, highly structured and professionally recognised process for helping those involved in a critical incident to share their experiences, vent emotions, learn about stress reactions …
State Claims Agency
The State Claims Agency resolves personal injury and third-party property damage claims against State Authorities, as delegated to us by Government. We also provide related risk management services, advising and assisting State Authorities in seeking to reduce or prevent future …
Work Positive CI
Work PositiveCI is a FREE easy to use, innovative, confidential, psychosocial risk management process. It provides feedback on workplace stressors, employee psychological wellbeing and critical incident exposure in the workplace. It delivers structured guidance enabling organisations to develop an action plan …
Health and Safety Authority
The State Claims Agency resolves personal injury and third-party property damage claims against State Authorities, as delegated to us by Government. We also provide related risk management services, advising and assisting State Authorities in seeking to reduce or prevent future …
While these resources are helpful to get you started, it’s very important to carefully plan your workplace wellbeing activities. Research shows that all activities that target the individual employee, should be coupled with activities at the level of the organisation. In other words, you should always take measures to create a supportive organisational environment alongside lifestyle-focussed supports for your employees. We’ve included detailed advice on how best to plan your activities at both these levels.
SunSmart for outdoor workers
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland accounting for almost 13,000 cases annually. The number of people being diagnosed with skin cancer in Ireland is rising …