Welcome to new network members
and charter signatories
The Mindful Employer Network is free to join for all local employers and their staff across Leeds and West Yorkshire. This month we are extending a warm welcome to new network members from:
People Matters Leeds
Hamara HLC
West Yorkshire Police
People Matters Leeds
University of York
Yorkshire Building Society / YBS Group
We are also celebrating two new Mindful Employers who have recently signed the Mindful Employer Charter for employers who are positive about mental health:
Care & Repair Leeds
The Progeny Group
Please click on the link below for information on how to how your organisation can become a Mindful Employer.
Do get in touch if you have any further questions about the Mindful Employer Network or Mindful Employer Charter.
Welcome to new members of our
Leeds Mindful Employer Steering Group
Leeds Mindful Employer Network has a steering group that meet regularly to review the strategic direction of our work. The steering group is made up of representatives from a range of Mindful Employers from across the local private, voluntary and statutory sectors.
Recently we set out to make our steering group more representative of the full diversity of our local business community. We successfully recruited several new members, who attended their first meeting on 14th July. It was fantastic to have so many new voices, ideas and perspectives in the room.
If you're interested in learning more about how our steering group works or would like to become involved yourself, please get in touch: mindfulemployer@leedsmind.org.uk
Revisit the video recordings from our conference
I'm sure that those of you who attended our March conference will agree that the themes discussed are just as relevant as ever. We've divided up our recordings and added chapters so that you can easily skip to the parts you want to listen to.
With many fantastic speakers and a wide range of topics such as leadership, communication, peer support, inclusion and local signposting... if you have a spare 30min these are well worth a watch!
View the recording from our workshop for managers: Normalising conversations about mental health
On 28th June we held an interactive workshop kindly facilitated by Leigh Staunton and Astrid Copeland, Job Retention Specialists at Leeds Mind's Workplace Leeds.
The workshop was extremely popular and received some fantastic feedback with comments such as:
"Excellent workshop with practical tools that can be applied in the work place with staff and volunteers to support everyone's mental health".
"Excellent information, learned lots of new strategies and ideas regarding how to hold positive conversations".
"The event provided exactly what it set out to do - tools for managers to enable them to normalise conversations about mental health. It also provided a platform to discuss these issues with others".
Please click on the link below to view a recording of the session. If you would like to receive the slides and handouts from the session please email us.
Our network meetings continue to be virtual/ digital.at the current time.
Tuesday 17th August - summer catch-up
Take an hour out to come and meet your fellow network members. This is an open invitation to all employers, business owners and staff from across Leeds and West Yorkshire who are interested in mental health at work.
We're keeping this session broad and relatively unstructured - a chance to engage in relaxed, small group discussions on a range of relevant topics.If there is a topic that you'd be particularly interested in discussing please let us know.
Thursday 23rd September - Prevention of Bullying: the foundation of courageous and compassionate workplaces
This session will be facilitated by Nicki Eyre, Director, Conduct Change.
Come to this session to understand the full spectrum of behaviours that can escalate into bullying, and the risks this brings to both individuals and organisations. We’ll also explore how to incorporate behavioural risk management into your business to help align culture and strategy.
With the cancellation of many Pride celebrations this year, we'd recommend listening to the Acas podcast episode below for discussion on how you can support your LGBTQI+ colleagues.
Acas Podcast: LGBTI+ Pride and support at work
LGBTQI+ and mental health
People who are LGBTQ+ still experience discrimination and face greater risk of poor mental health. Employers can play a key role in raising awareness and creating workplaces that are genuinely open, accepting, positive and proactive in their approach to diversity and inclusion.
See links to more information about LGBTQ+ mental health below:
The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Race Equalities Network has launched a free package of online racial inequalities training.
The aim of the training is to educate and raise awareness of the ongoing racial injustice and everyday discrimination faced by colleagues from ethnic minorities across our diverse communities. The voices and experiences of the Race Equality Network members from ethnic minorities have shaped the purpose and content of the training.
Topics covered included areas such as unconscious bias and racial micro-aggression, black history, white privilege and the importance of allyship.
Please see a flyer for the training here and follow the link below to access the free training modules for you and your colleagues..
Redundancy Support: Reminder to join our working group
We are working with local partners to create information and resources for employers who may be considering difficult decisions about redundancies at this time.
Have you experienced redundancy yourself as an employer or an employee?
We'd love to hear from anyone with interest or experience in this area. We will be running a focus group to capture your insights and ideas.
Leeds Mindful Employer Network has a steering group that meet regularly to review the strategic direction of our work. The steering group is made up of representatives from a range of Mindful Employers from across the local private, voluntary and statutory sectors. 
