Personnel Today Awards 2026 shortlist: Health and Wellbeing

Judges of the Health and Wellbeing Award at the Personnel Today Awards 2026 were keen to see how specific employee health, fitness or wellbeing initiatives were making a positive impact on performance. They were also looking for evidence of the organisation’s commitment to staff welfare and the benefits enjoyed by both the employees and the organisation. We profile those shortlisted. 

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CSSC

Addressing widespread inactivity and poor work-life balance in the UK public sector, Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) launched its Active Wellbeing 2025 campaign. The initiative tackled barriers like time scarcity and declining post-pandemic fitness habits by delivering a fully managed wellbeing solution for the Cabinet Office and the wider civil service. Rather than focusing on performance, the campaign prioritised accessible movement – including walking and gardening – while integrating mental, emotional, social, and financial support. Live activations, such as a cycling event with Olympic gold-medallist Ed Clancy, complemented top-down endorsement from senior leaders to drive behavioural change.

The campaign exceeded all communication targets, achieving a 43.6% email open rate, nearly 50,000 unique website visitors, and a 3.3 million social media reach. Ultimately, the programme engaged more than 35,000 participants across 5,815 departments – more than the previous three years combined – accumulating over six billion steps. It also secured a Net Promoter Score of 9.02/10 and 75% internal staff participation. Post-campaign evaluations confirmed profound behavioural change, and the majority of participants reported improved focus and work-life balance, healthier daily habits, and maintaining these habits after the campaign concluded. Government chief people officer Fiona Ryland endorsed the initiative, highlighting its vital role in boosting workforce morale and building a healthier civil service community.

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Danone

Danone UK and Ireland, which employs more than 1,600 people, transformed its static employee benefits system into an engaging, mobile-first wellness ecosystem. Previously, the business struggled with transactional interactions and poor platform access for deskless factory staff. In response, the employer launched its BeWell strategy, focusing on physical, mental, social, and financial pillars. Partnering with employee experience expert Benifex in 2025, the organisation introduced the Danone for Me platform to consolidate all benefits, communications, and health content into a single, interactive digital home.

To engage a diverse workforce spanning field, factory, and office roles, the benefits team introduced clever engagement hooks such as direct payslip access and holiday trading. These features successfully drew deskless employees on to the application, leading them to discover year-round health resources and personalised support pathways. Additionally, Danone consolidated its health offerings with Bupa, introduced enhanced private medical insurance, and integrated AI-powered search tools to make finding information seamless.

The initiative was successful. Overall login rates and benefits engagement increased significantly, with a notable majority of deskless workers actively using the platform. In the latest annual employee survey, the vast majority of staff reported that their benefits met their needs, representing a clear year-on-year rise. Strategically, the platform eliminated slow manual processes and spreadsheet-dependent payroll administration. By automating onboarding, the HR and benefits teams were freed from heavy administrative tasks to focus on preventative health strategies, using real-time analytics to identify and address major workforce health risks. This comprehensive digital evolution has successfully re-energised Danone’s workplace culture, delivering a highly efficient, data-led approach to employee wellness.

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Education Partnership North East

Education Partnership North East has implemented a purposeful, evidence-informed strategy to improve workplace support for those living with or affected by cancer. Recognising that one in three people is affected by cancer, and noting a rise in diagnoses among working-age individuals, the organisation identified critical gaps in existing practice, including limited manager confidence and inconsistent, reactive support.

To address these challenges, the education provider established priorities focused on fostering a compassionate culture, equipping managers with capability, and influencing broader employer standards. A standout innovation is the creation of a Cancer Support Employee Handbook. Designed from an employee-led perspective, the handbook avoids traditional policy rigidity, instead providing practical, empathetic guidance based on lived experience.

Furthermore, the organisation pioneered regional, cross-sector roundtable discussions, bringing together employers, healthcare providers, and public sector bodies. This collaborative, open-source model challenges traditional boundaries and enables shared ownership of this complex societal issue.

Through a whole-journey approach that extends beyond treatment into recovery, the initiative has strengthened the organisation’s standing as a better health at work ambassador. Managers report increased confidence in handling sensitive conversations, while employees benefit from improved psychological safety and flexible, personalised working arrangements. By integrating this work into its wider organisational strategy, the employer ensures long-term sustainability. The initiative is repeatable, with resources shared freely to encourage adoption across the region. This leadership demonstrates how modern employers can respond to complex human challenges with empathy, innovation, and measurable action, setting a new benchmark for inclusive employment practices that extend far beyond organisational walls.

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Hitachi Rail

Hitachi Rail established its cohesive Be Well framework to support over 3,000 employees across more than 30 UK sites, many of whom are shift workers without regular computer access. Structured around five core pillars, the initiative is driven by a dedicated wellbeing lead and a voluntary champion network. This network includes mental health first aiders, menopause advocates, and men’s health champions, known as manbassadors, who tailor national campaigns to resonate at a local level.

To engage its diverse and dispersed workforce, local champions introduced innovative strategies. These included onsite visits to promote male health, menopause coffee mornings, and an interactive experience where senior leaders wore simulated menopause symptoms on the manufacturing floor. Local teams also introduced practical adjustments like stoma-friendly facilities, free sanitary products, and cancer awareness sessions. Alongside these grassroots initiatives, the employer provided broader clinical support, including a virtual general practitioner, physiotherapy, and specialist cancer care.

The initiative achieved highly satisfactory outcomes. More than 60 local events attracted 1,500-plus attendees during the financial year. Critically, champion interventions supported a number of individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts. Additionally, employee assistance programme usage rose to above the industry average. Annual engagement surveys reflected substantial progress over two years, with favourable scores for overall health and wellbeing rising impressively. Satisfied employees reported more manageable stress levels and a greater sense of psychological safety. Following this success, the organisation plans to roll out this champion model globally to sustain preventative mental and physical care.

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idverde UK in partnership with Salubrium

Environmental services company idverde UK, employing 3,000 predominantly field-based colleagues, addressed severe workforce challenges by launching its Thrive Care Hub in 2025. Previously, the organisational structures struggled to keep pace, leading to relatively high long-term absence rates and an employee assistance programme that lacked trust and needed improvement. Led by chief people officer Amanda Capon, working in partnership with Mark Giles of Salubrium to design and implement the integrated strategy, the business introduced a comprehensive health offering built on seven interconnected pillars. This framework combined structured absence reporting, clinical case management, proactive health surveillance, and mental health counselling, all accessible via an integrated digital platform.

The initiative yielded excellent achievements, transforming employee wellbeing while delivering a massive commercial return. Within its first nine months, the programme reduced the overall absence rate to 2.25%, successfully returning 45 long-term sick employees to work and saving the company over £1.2 million. Improved workplace support also led to a significant increase in employee retention, saving an additional £1.5 million in recruitment costs. Furthermore, employee engagement has surged since the launch, with line managers actively adopting the platform through more than six thousand distinct logins.

Crucially, the care hub delivered life-changing clinical outcomes, including the prevention of a near-miss cardiac event after a nurse case manager spotted a dangerous medication contraindication. By focusing on root causes like financial strain and mental health struggles rather than just symptoms, the employer has built a highly resilient workplace. This innovative, data-led strategy demonstrates that supporting employee wellbeing directly drives commercial success. The programme sets a sector-leading benchmark for UK employers, proving that investing in comprehensive, whole-of-workforce care enhances trust, productivity, and organisational strength.

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Novo Nordisk UK

Healthcare firm Novo Nordisk UK, which employs 437 people across 34 nationalities, has successfully embedded its global NovoHealth framework to support sustainable performance and employee engagement. Grounded in the company’s core values, the programme delivers holistic care across five strategic pillars, including mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. The organisation provides highly accessible daily initiatives, such as an onsite gym, weekly exercise classes, free healthy meals, and a dedicated network of 17 trained mental health first aiders. These mental health advocates, representing all 12 UK business units, have received additional training in menopause and neurodiversity to offer inclusive, early-intervention support.

The initiative has delivered outstanding achievements and highly positive organisational outcomes, particularly during a period of two major transformational restructures. An independent global review in 2026 validated the resilience of this approach, highlighting high psychological safety and strong support from line managers. Furthermore, employee trust in the company’s resources is evidenced by a 60% registration rate with the employee assistance programme and a high utilisation rate, which sits significantly above the national benchmark. Benefits enrolment remains highly successful, with the majority of staff logging in and selecting benefits, and almost all private medical insurance members active on the healthcare application. While annual survey metrics experienced a minor year-on-year shift due to organisational changes, over three-quarters of employees still affirmed that the business genuinely cares about their health. By combining practical everyday support with deep clinical resources, Novo Nordisk UK has successfully sustained an inclusive culture of care that protects and empowers its diverse workforce.

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Zertus UK and Ireland

Zertus UK and Ireland recognised that menopause was often experienced in silence, exacerbated by negative stereotypes and workplace stigma. Employees reported facing insensitive remarks, which prevented open discussion and adequate support. To address this, the organisation shifted its culture to create an environment where staff felt informed and empowered. The programme, Time to Pause, began with a single HR manager who, after fearing her own symptoms indicated dementia, approached the HR director. The conversation led to the creation of a safe, confidential space where colleagues could share experiences and support one another.

The initiative grew from a single meeting into a cross-site support network spanning several locations. It welcomes not just those experiencing menopause, but also partners, friends, and managers seeking to understand the topic better. By involving male colleagues in discussions, the network has successfully normalised the conversation and eliminated previously pervasive stigmas. To provide evidence-based support, the organisation collaborated with external experts and healthcare professionals, ensuring advocates could signpost colleagues to appropriate medical and wellbeing resources.

The outcomes have been transformative. The programme has successfully removed the stigma surrounding menopause, significantly improving psychological safety across the workforce. Employees frequently credit the initiative with boosting their confidence and encouraging them to seek necessary medical treatment. By fostering a culture where staff feel supported rather than isolated, the programme has fundamentally changed the workplace dynamic. It stands as a testament to the power of lived experience and leadership commitment, demonstrating how compassion and openness can build a culture where no colleague navigates this life stage alone.

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