By April 2020, Stonegate will have a Mental Health Champion in each site that it operates
Launching today [Thursday 14 November], Stonegate Pub Company has partnered with the Licensed Trade Charity to provide mental health training for over 1,000 team members.
Between now and April 2020, all of Stonegate’s general managers and line managers of pub support teams will participate in this face-to-face training workshop, to become mental health champions. The training focuses on educating and is designed to give team members the confidence to have those difficult conversations with team members that may be suffering from mental health issues.
Recent studies have highlighted both the individual cost of poor mental health, but also the cost to businesses. Stonegate has identified that there is a significant cost directly attributed to sick days taken as result of mental health issues, which combined with a philosophy deeply ingrained in the well-being of its staff, has fuelled the programme.
Suzanne Haydon, Head of HR, said: “Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and their physical and mental well-being is of the upmost importance. We strive to enable our employees to be the best they can be through our award-winning, forward-looking, ‘Bar to Boardroom’ career develop programme, Albert’s Theory of Progression. This equips them with the skills and behaviours they need to progress, however, as the largest operator of late-night venues in the UK, we also recognise that their health and well-being is equally important in their career progression.
“The statistics that were reported on World Mental Health Day, where 84% of hospitality workers reported an increase in stress as a direct result of their job, were alarming and we take this responsibility in looking after our teams very seriously.
“Within the last two years our employee base has grown by 13%, from 13,200 to 15,000, as we continue to acquire a mixture of pubs and bars, including late night businesses. We are not trying to turn our teams into counsellors, but this programme is designed to give our people the skills and confidence they need to identify someone who is struggling and guide them towards specialist help and support services.”
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Editor’s notes:
About Stonegate Pub Company
Stonegate Pub Company is the largest privately held managed pub operator in the UK, with revenues in excess of £800m and we employ over 14,000 people. The company has 772 pubs, split into two divisions, Branded, comprising: Slug & Lettuce, Walkabout, Be At One, Venues; and Traditional comprising: Proper Pubs, Town Pub & Kitchen, Classic Inns and Common Room.
2019 – UK Hospitality’s Dusk ‘til Dawn Late Night Awards – Icon Award (Ian Payne MBE)
2019 – UK Hospitality’s Dusk ‘til Dawn Late Night Awards – Best Marketing and Promotions Award
2019 – Great British Pub Awards – Best LGBTQ+ Pub
2019 – BII Scotland Awards – Best Operator for Training
2019 – Ian Payne MBE, Lifetime Achievement Award, Retailers Retailer of the Year; Investor of the Year TDR Capital, Retailers Retailer of the Year
2019 – Two Menu Innovation & Development Awards (MIDAS): Slug & Lettuce best menu – Premium High Street Pub; Walkabout best menu -Town & City Pub
2019 – Publican Awards (five awards): Best Community Pub Operator, Best Pub Employer (501+ employees), Best Managed Pub Company (51+ sites), Best Drinks Offer, Business Leader of the Year – Chief Executive, Simon Longbottom
2018 – Late Night Awards – Best Service & Team Development and Best Late Night Company
2018 – Licensed Trade Charity – Outstanding Corporate Contribution Award
2018 – Great British Pub Awards (two awards) – Best LGBTQ+ and Best Sports Pub
2018 – APPBG PUBAID Corporate Charity Fundraiser Award
2018 – Publican Awards – Best Late Night Operator
2017 – Great British Pub Awards (three awards) – Best Pub Garden, Best Entertainment and Best Sports Pub
2017 – Publican Awards (two awards) – Best Managed Pub Company; and Best Late Night Operator (plus highly commended Best Employer)
2017 – Menu Innovation and Development Award (MIDAS) - Premium High Street Pub (TPK)
2017 – Retailers’ Retailer Award – Investor of the Year (TDR Capital)
2016 – BII National Industry Training Awards (NITA) (two awards) – Best Managed Company for Training; Lifetime Achievement Award for Chairman, Ian Payne
2016 – Great British Pub Awards – Best Sports Pub
2016 – Scottish Training Federation – Best Large Employer
2016 – HR Excellence Awards – Best Learning and Development Strategy
2016 – HR Distinction Awards (two awards) – Innovation for Digital & Social Media; People Development
2014 – (Three awards) – HR Distinction in Innovative Use of Technology; Publican - Business Leader of the Year, Chairman Ian Payne; MIDAS Best New Concept Missoula, Montana Bar & Grill
2013 – (Two awards) – Publican award Best Pub Employer; MIDAS City and Bar Dining award Slug and Lettuce.