Royal Society of Edinburgh
One of Scotland’s oldest academic institutions, the Royal Society of Edinburgh was created in 1783 by Royal Charter for “the advancement of learning and useful knowledge”. But those who are part of this unique fellowship are eager to learn more about improving health for their staff.
The RSE achieved the Bronze Award under the former Scotland’s Health at Work scheme and is now in the process of transferring over to the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme.
HR officer Christel Baudere, who is taking the lead on the Healthy Working Lives agenda for the society, says the new Award Programme is much more comprehensive.
It is completely different in terms of health and safety – it is much more thorough,” she says. “All of the things you are asked to do, we had done, but it’s a good reminder of how do things properly and to have an external eye.”
Christel has found her Healthy Working Lives Adviser has been very helpful, and she has particularly appreciated the opportunity to attend seminars on issues like healthy eating, back care and alcohol and drugs.
“All the people we have met have been fabulous,” she says. “We get free seminars and most people who are part of the group have attended and really enjoy it. It is really useful.”
She adds: “When I started here, they didn’t have a no smoking policy and that is something that was enforced through SHAW. Through Healthy Working Lives, at the silver level, you must have an alcohol and drugs policy."
“It is these topics that people don’t want to talk about in the workplace. It helps you when dealing with your policies for sickness absence.”
Christel found information and advice on how to deal with issues like cancer, which is a source of long term absence, very helpful, and she adds that it is important for employers to use opportunities to support staff who have been ill.
“Keeping an eye on it is not just about giving them a slap on the wrist when they have been off sick – it’s to promote support,” she says. “And it’s about reaching people at work because we all spend our lives at work.”
Christel says that the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme has often helped to reinforce the importance of policies that she would like to promote anyway.
“The good thing was it gave me a bit more power for the policies to be in place,” she says. “I have now got the health and safety officer on the case as well and it’s reinforced what we are doing.”
With 34 staff, the society is a relatively small organisation and Christel adds that smaller employers, particuarly without dedicated HR teams, would benefit from support from Healthy Working Lives. “We have health and safety reps and HR, but some smaller organisations don’t have that kind of thing,” she says.
Health in the workplace is also a broader issue for the society, which hosts many events and lectures, often hosted and attended by fellows who may not have been familiar with the society’s health and safety policies.
“We need to look after our fellows, and we have only recently started doing an induction for new fellows,” explains Christel. “Having the health and safety policy up to scratch when they come to the building is vital. We have public lectures so we need to know how to train people.”
Staff at the RSE have made efforts to become more active, taking part in fitness classes, including taster sessions of tai chi and yoga in the workplace, and organising group walks or cycles at weekends.
“The walking group only really works in the summer,” laughs Christel. “We also organise cycling trips at the weekends. It is a social thing and people should think of them in that way rather than them being imposed.”
Christel says she encourages friends who work in HR to consider signing up for the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme. “It was positive from the start because we had to have a group of people working together, and also we got the recognition for what we were doing,” she says.
“I would totally recommend it. It doesn’t impose anything – it’s not legally binding – but it’s full of good ideas for the organisation. It gets people thinking.”
