In November, we held our annual celebratory event where we heard great expert talks on a variety of workplace health and wellbeing topics. Chaired by Matt Lenny, Director of Healthy and Sustainable Communities, North Somerset Council.

We celebrated workplaces on the Healthy Workplaces award programme and gave out 16 awards to 14 companies including our first Gold awards.

We also heard from Members about the great interventions taking place in their workplaces, which gave us all some inspiration and enthusiasm to keep building thriving work environments.

From Awareness to Action: Building Neuroinclusive Workplaces

Lucy Smith from Inclusive Change gave us a interactive story and real life examples to show how workplaces can embrace a diverse workplace where all individuals can be successful.

Talk Club

Steve Barnard from Talk Club shared personal insights and highlighted support to help Mens Mental Health in North Somerset. There is also Business Support for Workplaces which is available to all employees.

Prevention in Practice

Dr Mavin Kashyap, Academic GP, shared insights from the North Somerset Workplace Health Check Programme – a pilot with 52 workplaces to deliver health checks to employees in their workplace. The programme ended in May 2025 and we heard some key findings and useful resources to keep healthy and happy.

Fuel Your Day: Smart Eating for Energy and Focus at Work

Lydia Leighton from Lydia Leighton Nutrition and Wellbeing reminded us how important good nutrition and hydration is for a productive workforce. We enjoyed useful tips on how to SHIFT into better habits to improve health, concentration and productivity.

The Power of Movement at Work

Becca Strathers, Health Improvement Service Leader at North Somerset Council, led us through some movement quizzes to see how active we are at work, and reminded us all of the importance of getting active during the day with easy changes like standing up at desks, walking meetings and lunchtime walking groups. There are also grants available to workplaces to help encourage physical activity in the workplace.

How WorkWell West supports Healthier Workplaces

Ilona Marciniak from WorkWell West shared information about useful resources for employees struggling with health conditions that are affecting their work. WorkWell West aim to promote early intervention and support to keep employees in work, or return to work quicker.

Alcohol and the workplace: Opening the Conversation

Luke Radice from Alcohol Change UK gave an interactive talk with a demo to raise awareness of the challenges of dealing with absenteeism due to alcohol, and the need for open and honest conversations to support employees to reduce alcohol use and feel empowered.

North Somerset Healthy Workplaces Programme Update

Naomi Greaves, Health Improvement Specialist at North Somerset Council gave us an update on the growing Healthy Workplaces Programme. We heard about what the programme entails and how to earn awards, and we heard from some Members about amazing things going on in their workplaces.

Award Winners

Councillor Jenna Ho Marris, Executive Member for Homes, Health and Equalities, North Somerset Council presented 14 workplaces with their Healthy Workplaces Awards. There were 16 certificate in total, including the first 2 Gold awards.

For more information on how to sign up your workplace, check out the North Somerset Healthy Workplaces Awards section.