Business leaders are meeting to discuss the mental wellbeing of their employees on Tuesday 9 October, the day before World Mental Health Day.
This is the first time that leading professional services firms have jointly held a session for senior business leaders, supported by major mental health charities and UK government departments.
The event, organised by KPMG and Linklaters will:
Robert Elliott, Linklaters’ Chairman and Senior Partner, said: “Looking out for our people’s mental wellbeing is high on our agenda. We recognise that Linklaters can be a demanding place to work, so we recently produced guidance on best practice about stress management and how to identify and address the symptoms of stress in ourselves and others. We hope that by having a dialogue with other firms and with experts in the field of mental wellbeing we can encourage debate about, and understanding of, this important subject. ”
Simon Collins, Senior Partner at KPMG, said: “Employee well-being is vital to any organisation – it’s crucial to recognise that, for companies to thrive, their people need to feel well emotionally and mentally. The economic downturn has clearly led to an increase in anxiety and worry. We want to put mental health firmly on the business agenda and engage senior leaders in the discussion. Our aspiration is to work together with others to build a better blueprint for tackling mental health in business.”
Poppy Jaman, Chief Executive, Mental Health First Aid England Community Interest Company, added: “Linklaters and KPMGs’ leadership and collaborative approach in organising this event is a big step towards bridging the gap between the not for profit and business sectors. The event reinforces the value in working together to create maximum reach and higher impact by utilising the strengths and skills of each sector. We hope this will encourage and inspire businesses to take a look at how giving the mental health of the workforce attention can reduce human suffering and also have a positive impact on productivity and the bottom line.”
The event will be chaired by Professor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, patron of Mental Health First Aid England, and will include contributions from Lord Layard, founder director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, Professor Cary Cooper, CBE, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University, Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, specialist in sleep disorders, stress, burnout and technology addiction at Capio Nightingale Clinic, as well as key mental health charities and representatives from UK government such as Mind, Rethink, Time to Change, Mental Health First Aid, Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, the Department of Health, and the Department of Work and Pensions.
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Media enquiries to:
Mark Hamilton, KPMG press office 020 7694 2687
Katie Taylor, Linklaters press office 020 7456 2287
Notes to editors:
- This event was developed between Linklaters and KPMG, with support from Goldman Sachs.
KPMG
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 11,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.7 billion in the year ended September 2011. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 145,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services
For further information please contact Mark Hamilton on 020 7694 2687
Linklaters
Linklaters LLP is a leading global law firm, supporting clients in achieving their strategies wherever they do business. We use our expertise and resources to help clients pursue opportunities and manage risk across emerging and developed markets around the world.
One of the firm’s priorities is to create a truly inclusive culture, and to foster a working environment in which individual differences are respected and valued, and everyone has the opportunity to excel.
Corporate responsibility is central to Linklaters’ thinking. The firm is determined to achieve its strategic business goals by leading in a way that is consistent with its values. These values should be integral to the relationships the firm builds with its clients, people and the wider global community. To access Linklaters’ most recent report on corporate responsibility, click here.
For further information, please contact Katie Taylor on 020 7456 2287
MHFA
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a Community Interest Company and is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. MHFA is the mental health equivalent to First Aid training and provides participants with the skills and confidence to give crisis first aid for suicide and self harm. The core principles include; spotting the signs of a mental health problem, helping to stop the distress from getting worse and give confidence in helping someone who is experiencing a problem.
MHFA has over 50,000 first aiders and over 500 instructors in the UK alone. The Royal Society of Public Health accredits both the standard instructor programme and the Youth MHFA Instructor programme.
More information about MHFA and the courses they provide can be found on their website: mhfaengland.org or by emailing info@mhfaengland.org.
For further information, please contact Sarah Walters
