Online health check initiative for Royal Mail staff

Royal Mail has launched two schemes to improve the health and wellbeing of its 180,000-strong employees.

An online health checking and assessment service will let staff analyse their lifestyles and design improvement plans by accessing information on a range of areas, from nutrition to stress and exercise.

The organisation is also recruiting of a team of health trainers who will help workers to improve their health through advice and practical support.

Royal Mail is one of the leading organisations in the UK in terms of providing occupational health support to its workforce. Absenteeism at the group has fallen from 7% to 5% in the past three years.

Dr Steve Boorman, Royal Mail director of corporate responsibility, said: “As the government increasingly looks to employers to promote and sustain the health and wellbeing of UK workers, our experience provides a useful benchmark for organisations and businesses looking to reduce the impact of absence on their operations.”

Ben Willmott, employee relations adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “These two initiatives show that Royal Mail is serious about proactively supporting employee health rather than simply managing employee absence.”