Staff offered 24-hour counselling service

The UK arm of an international logistics company is to offer its employees 24-hour access to telephone and online counselling.

The UK Haulier website reported on 10 April that HOYER had appointed employee assistance and well-being specialist Validium to run an employee assistance programme for its 1,100 UK and Ireland employees.

Tania Cressey, head of human resources for HOYER in the UK and Ireland, told the publication: “Our 800 truck drivers spend a huge amount of time on the road, delivering fuel, bitumen, food and chemicals up and down the length of the country. Given the 24-7 nature of their work, we wanted to be able to support them round the clock.

“Although we have very high occupational health standards in place, we wanted to go further by introducing an employee assistance programme, providing our drivers, staff and managers with 24-7 access to professional support on any issue that may be bothering them.

“We’re now able to offer our workforce round-the-clock access to all the emotional and practical support they need to start tackling problems that might otherwise start to feel overwhelming, especially given most of our employees are travelling alone and away from other people for long stretches of time.”

Palmers’ employment law specialist Lara Murray said: “The company has taken a proactive step towards supporting the well-being of its employees and offering a similar service may be something other employers wish to consider as an investment in the health of their staff.

“Employers need to bear in mind that they have duties under health and safety law to assess risks from work-related stress and take steps to control these and a duty under common law to take reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and well-being of workers.

“Our team can provide expert advice to employers on actions they need to take to safeguard their employees from stress, including carrying out stress risk assessments to identify measures that ought to be taken. For more information, please contact us.”