Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service

Help our staff to plan their finances

Cultural changes to society mean that alongside the normal financial pressures employees may face, some may find themselves sandwiched between caring for elderly relatives and financing children.

Good financial planning is key to securing improved health and well-being. In the past, financial planning was only available to those in their final years with the Service.

We are committed to ensuring our people have the support they need to plan their finances in the medium to long term, in line with modern issues, helping them plan for the future

Periodically survey the welfare of our staff

We undertake a variety of initiatives to promote the well-being of all employees.

We periodically survey our staff to capture the level of well-being across the Service and look for new initiatives to continually improve on the outcomes.

We closely analyse statistics to ensure we can identify any issues early and address them quickly.

Support employees who may have to care for young, disabled, sick or elderly relatives

One in ten people are now carers and getting the work/life balance right is increasingly difficult in the modern world. Demands from home lives, weighed up against work commitments, can become stressful if, as an employer, we don’t consider and support employees facing these challenges.

Left unchecked and unsupported, employees could become demotivated and unproductive.

We are committed to supporting our employees, ensuring they are well equipped to deal with such issues should they arise.

Develop policies to mitigate and manage mental ill-health and workplace stress

One in four people will suffer from mental health issues at some point in their lives.

The total number of working days lost due to stress, depression or anxiety in the UK was 11.3 million in 2013/14 (Source HSE) and nearly 40 per cent of work-related illness is stress related.

We provide a range of policies, procedures, guidance and information to support our employees.

Acting proactively to avoid employees suffering from mental health illness, and being prepared to help should we need to, is crucial to securing health and well-being.

Develop our fitness and nutrition procedures, to support the health and well-being of all our staff

We recognise it’s the little things done each day that keep us all fit and healthy.

We believe that getting the right balance of nutrition and exercise will help our employees feel better, reduce their chances of ill health, live longer, improve the quality of their sleep and be more productive at work.

We are committed to promoting healthy and active lifestyles and setting an excellent example to others.

Support an ageing operational workforce

Changes to the firefighter pensions regulations and the fact that we are all living for longer, mean that firefighters are working longer and until they are older.

We are committed to harnessing the skills of our older employees. As the profile of the Service changes, we are looking for ways to adapt and support employees wherever we can to support their futures and the future of the Service.

Support female staff through the menopause

Many women develop their own coping strategies during the menopause, however we are committed to making provisions in areas where we can, in order to support our female employees and lessen the impact of this health issue.

Information on support available for any issues that arise as a result of the menopause is made available to all employees, and guidance produced for line managers. This provides greater awareness and understanding of the impacts of menopause and what simple adjustments we can make.

We will continue to raise further awareness of our positive attitude towards issues such as the menopause through Service-wide campaigns, encouraging employees to be open about such subjects.

Our desire is to develop a culture of openness regarding health issues in order to prevent embarrassment being a barrier.

Support a good work-life balance

Getting the work-life balance right is really important when considering the well-being of employees. It is accepted that management play a key role in achieving this.

This is why we are committed to ensuring we have the relevant procedures and guidance in place to manage this aim.