Hughes has been collaborating with mental health charity, Inspire, since the beginning of the year. We have now strengthened our commitment to safeguarding our employees’ mental health by signing Northern Ireland’s Mental Health Charter.
Our chief executive, David Egan, put his signature to the charter during Mental Health Week (14-20 May).
“I’m very proud to be signing this charter on behalf of Hughes Insurance,” he said. “We take our duty of care for our employees very seriously and have already committed to running a number of programmes for staff via our partnership with Inspire, all of which aim to help staff maintain good mental health.”
Peter McBride, CEO of Inspire, commended us. “It’s great to see Hughes Insurance signing the Mental Health Charter today. They are great supporters of Change Your Mind – our mental health anti-stigma campaign, as well as being partners with Inspire as a charity. This signing proves their commitment to promoting positive mental health in their workplace and valuing the wellbeing of each staff member.”
“It’s good to see a large employer like Hughes leading the way,” said Dr Michael Wardlow, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission. “Mental ill health is a largely hidden disability and observing the provisions of the charter helps people to recognise it, talk about it and receive help. This is a voluntary, long-term and practical commitment that helps employers comply with – and go beyond – the law. It can have a huge importance for employees to help them when they experience difficult times.”
The Northern Ireland Mental Health Charter set out five commitments that employers and service providers will work to deliver for their staff:
- an open and inclusive workplace culture
- promotion of equality of opportunity and challenge discrimination in the workplace
- equality of opportunity in recruitment and selection
- identification and provision of sources of information and support
- the adoption of Every Customer Counts recommendations.
The project is run jointly by:
- The Equality Commission
- Action Mental Health
- Change Your Mind
- Disability Action
- The Mental Health Foundation
- MindWise
- Inspire
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