Ensuring staff welfare when working away from the main workplace

Safeguarding_blog Image

For many organisations, having staff work away from home is a necessity – whether it’s for an event, a long-term project, or an assignment on site.

A big misconception about staff welfare is that employers only have a duty of care to protect their teams whilst they’re on the premises of their usual workplace. The reality is, there are a variety of ways you can safeguard the wellbeing of your workforce – even when they’re working away.

Working in unfamiliar environments alongside people they may not know, and being removed from their usual support systems can pose unique challenges. By taking proactive steps to prioritise welfare and safety, you can create a positive environment for your team, where they know they’re supported.

Here are some key considerations to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of your staff while they’re working away from their usual workplace:

Accommodation safety and accessibility

The location and setup of the accommodation you book for your team can have a significant impact on their experience. By ensuring the hotel you’re selecting is within a reasonable distance of their workplace, you can help minimise commuting times and reduce stress.

Checking that the hotel also has clear emergency procedures in place – including first aid solutions and evacuation plans – means your team can rest knowing that they’re in good hands if an issue were to occur.

Even after you’ve selected the appropriate hotel, there are still a variety of ways you can safeguard your workforce, such as requesting that no printed room lists are distributed upon check-in. Simply ensuring that room numbers are not shared with other guests, is an effective way to protect your team’s security, and help them maintain their privacy during their stay.

If you have female members of staff working away, requesting that they are not allocated rooms on the ground floor or rooms with interconnecting doors, can also be a huge help when it comes to maintaining their personal security.

Team support systems and communication

Being removed from your usual support networks can come with their own set of mental and emotional challenges – especially for those who may not be used to being in unfamiliar environments. Due to this, finding ways to create a sense of community within the team is essential for making sure everyone feels seen, heard, and supported whilst they’re away.

This could look like encouraging a buddy system for getting to and from venues – particularly during early or late hours – or arranging group taxis or private transport for convenient travel.

If multiple team members are unfamiliar with each other, organising a casual team dinner before the trip can help break the ice and build rapport. For those working alone, encouraging downtime during the trip so they can recharge and take advantage of hotel facilities such as the gym or pool can be a great way to show appreciation for their time.

Alongside this, making sure there’s clear communication between yourself and your team can help manage any expectations and reduce confusion when it comes to carrying out vital tasks during their stay. If you pair this with providing important contact details, detailed briefs about the project, and information on what to expect while on-site, your team can rest knowing they have all the information needed to do their job confidently.

Staff health and wellness

When your team is working long hours at a location they’re not used to, providing information or recommendations on the best places to eat can help them maintain their energy levels, without the stress of trying to organise meal times. Even providing vouchers for specific restaurants, pre-paying for their meals at their hotel, or pre-ordering lunch to their work site can be an effective way to show you care for their overall wellbeing. Remember – everyone is different so make sure you speak to your team about their preferences and any requirements before confirming any bookings. By taking on the burden of organising details like this, your staff can focus on the task at hand.

When you focus on staff welfare in every detail, from travel logistics to emotional support, you’ll not only ensure a smooth experience for your team, but also demonstrate that you value and care for them.

Whether it’s a full-time employee or a freelancer – every individual deserves to feel safe, supported, and confident while working away from home.

If you’d like more advice on staff welfare and how we can help you ensure safety is prioritised in your workplace or at events, get in touch with our team today. We’d love to help!

Travel impacts with Ecolibrium

Travel is typically the largest source of emissions from live events. We’re working with the charity ecolibrium to tackle these impacts and be part of the mission to move low carbon travel to the heart of live events culture and unite the industry in environmental restoration. This year we are recording carbon emissions from our travel mile, reducing emissions wherever possible, and donating to balance these impacts through ecolibrium’s climate solutions programme:

‌Trees+, which supports project partners to protect areas of threatened rainforest from deforestation, to preserve and restore ecosystems and to work with communities in parts of the world most at risk from climate change impacts to enable social & environmental regeneration through tree planting, sustainable farming, forestry protection and local governance.

‌Ecolibrium is a live events industry response to the climate crisis – a community of events, festivals, suppliers, artists and music companies taking action to reduce travel impacts by moving climate action and low – carbon travel into the heart of live events culture and investing in environmental restoration.

Since 2015, ecolibrium has worked with over 160 event industry members, providing them resources, tools, advice and inspiration to reduce travel emissions and investing over £650,000 in environmental restoration and climate action; supporting community – led, community benefit renewable energy projects and supporting ecosystem protection and regeneration, protecting biodiversity and create livelihoods for communities on the front line of climate change. 

Visit the ecolibrium website to find out more: Tackling Travel Impacts – Ecolibrium

Working together for safer events

PPE

Is PPE policing the best use of your safety team’s time?

When it comes to supporting events, ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone involved is of course our top priority. Under circumstances where works cannot be undertaken to remove risks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) plays a crucial role in safeguarding workers and contractors from any potential hazards on-site at events. In this blog, we’ll delve into the importance of PPE, explore common on-site challenges and explain how a collaborative approach can improve the use of PPE.

Why PPE matters on-site at events

Worker safety: When tasks have been risk assessed, the final control measure is often the use of PPE. This PPE plays an important role in protecting people who make events come to life. Event build and breakdowns are usually busy environments with various activities taking place simultaneously, including heavy lifting, construction, and handling of equipment. PPE serves as a protective shield, guarding workers against potential hazards and reducing the impact of injuries or accidents.

Compliance with risk assessment: When tasks are subjected to a risk assessment, the aim is to identify hazards and implement control measures to either eliminate or minimise them. While PPE is not meant to be the initial control measure, it is recognised as one of the measures we can use for risk reduction. Employers have a legal obligation to safeguard their employees, and providing PPE, as pinpointed in the risk assessment, serves to demonstrate their dedication to worker safety.

Professional image and stakeholder confidence: For event companies and organisers, adhering to strict, though proportionate, safety standards and enforcing PPE usage demonstrates a commitment to safety. Clients and stakeholders are more likely to trust and have confidence in an event company that prioritises safety, making it an essential aspect of successful event delivery.

Common on-site PPE challenges

Event delivery can be incredibly fast paced and pressurised with leaders having to juggle multiple priorities at the same time. Trying to focus on PPE adherence on top of everything else can be tough which is why it’s often expected that the safety team will monitor the use of PPE on-site.

Sometimes, event workers may unintentionally forget to wear the necessary safety gear or they may not always see the value in wearing certain PPE items. There’s a lot of pressure on event workers so when it comes to PPE, we promote a proactive, not punitive, approach to reinforce the importance of wearing safety gear on-site but without creating unnecessary conflict.

Collaboration is the key to PPE implementation

Rather than adopting a heavy-handed or accusatory approach where the safety team effectively become the ‘PPE Police’, a much better strategy is to build a strong, collaborative approach between event leaders and the safety team. The safety team’s time and resources can often be in demand, so making the most of their budget should be a shared goal. By working together to take joint responsibility for the correct use of PPE on-site, event leaders and safety teams can collectively promote a safer environment for everyone.

Ensuring that it is clear to everyone on site what the expected PPE standards are prior to their arrival on site will help set the standards not only for PPE but also for safety on site as a whole.

We’ve also found that when event leaders consistently wear their own PPE on site, they are visibly demonstrating their commitment to safety. This sends a powerful message to the rest of the team as they are leading by example and promoting the proper use of PPE.

Ensuring safety, together

PPE is an important aspect of event safety, providing necessary protection to workers but the safety team’s role and expertise extends beyond just PPE enforcement. When event leaders and safety teams work together to reinforce the importance of PPE, the safety team’s resources and expertise are optimised enabling them to manage their time effectively across all aspects of the event, keeping everyone safe.

If you’d like to work with a safety team who are committed to simplifying health and safety and putting people first, then get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your next event.

Supporting the mental health of your event team is vital to keeping everyone safe

Mental Health

If you ask event organisers around the world about the most important aspects of event safety, mental health may not be something that automatically springs to mind. This doesn’t mean that event organisers aren’t supportive, far from it. The disconnect is mainly because the conversation about positive mental health and event safety has only recently started to become more prevalent in the industry.

In this blog, we’ll explore why mental health is just as important as physical health, and the steps event organisers can take to support the mental well-being of their teams.

Why is good mental health important for event teams?

One of the main reasons why good mental health is important for people working at events is that these environments can often be highly stressful. Teams have to work long hours, sometimes deal with difficult situations, and manage multiple tasks at once. Additionally, the fast-paced nature of events means that event workers may have to make quick decisions and react to unexpected scenarios. All of these factors can take a toll on their mental health, leading to burnout, depression, and other mental health issues.

Many event workers are also required to spend long periods of time away from home – which means they are far away from a stable routine, and the support of those they would ordinarily feel comfortable confiding in. Working away from these support systems whilst trying to navigate the demands of a job in unfamiliar surroundings can lead to intensified feelings of loneliness and disconnection.

If an event worker is already suffering with their mental health and they don’t have access to the support they need, it may feel isolating and in some situations could have a detrimental impact on them. If someone is finding it difficult to concentrate or to perform their job effectively, they may lose trust in their ability to make decisions or they may feel a lack of confidence. This situation may not be the case for everyone living with a mental health condition though, so the best route an organiser can take is to create a positive environment for everyone. An environment where all workers feel supported, able to speak out if they choose to and with access to support services. 

How can event organisers support the mental health of their team?

To support the mental health of teams working at events, organisers need to take a proactive approach and create a supportive culture where the team can feel able to raise their mental health. Living with a mental health condition is a deeply personal journey and support should be offered to what each individual person feels they need. When there’s a culture of openness and acceptance around mental health, it opens the door to discussing any mental health concerns they may have, if they feel able to do so. It’s also important to provide the team with good welfare provision and time to rest and recover so that they have sufficient downtime to relax and recharge.

Another step that organisers can take is to provide their teams with resources and support to help with their mental health. This can include signposting to counselling services, mental health support groups, or an assistance program. At Harrier, we’re committed to supporting the mental health of not just our own team, but also all the event teams we work alongside. This is why we chose CALM as our charity of the year. CALM provokes conversation, provides advice, and brings people together so they reject living miserably and get help when they need it. The belief we share with our clients is that we must all work together to keep people safe, not just physically but also mentally and CALM’s free resources provide an incredible avenue of support.

Another great initiative that helps create a positive and healthy environment for event workers is providing healthy food options, promoting regular exercise, and encouraging teams to take care of their physical health. Event team leaders should also encourage workers to practice self-care, such as maximising sleep, eating well, and taking time to relax and de-stress.

Finally, it’s key to communicate regularly with teams to check in on their mental health and wellbeing. This can be as simple as having an open-door policy where people feel comfortable in opening up and discussing anything they’re going through. By regularly checking in, event organisers can aim to identify any potential mental health issues in their team early on and take steps to provide the right support.

If you’d like to see how we can support the safety of your team and visitors at your next event, get in touch with our friendly team today.

What is wellbeing?

Wellbeing

An Intro wellbeing

‘Wellbeing’ has become a big buzzword within workplaces over the past few years – especially in a post-pandemic society. But what does the term actually mean?

According to IOSH, one definition of wellbeing can be described as:

“An individual’s holistic state that encompasses both current mental and physical health circumstances based on influential factors”.

This would suggest that our wellbeing is not solely determined by one aspect (either mental or physical health) but is rather affected by a combination of influences within and outside of the workplace.

In a world where we are now increasingly aware of the importance of mental health and the effect it can have on our daily lives, the idea of coming up with a one-size-fits-all solution to increase wellbeing in the workplace can feel daunting.

However, once we become aware of the factors involved in optimising wellbeing for ourselves and our teams, we can slowly start to piece together the pillars required to create healthier environments within and outside of the workplace.

The vital elements included in encouraging wellbeing

Because the term ‘wellbeing’ can mean a variety of things to various individuals, companies often find it difficult to know how to effectively tackle this issue in a way that’s beneficial to all.

The ‘7 Pillars of Wellbeing’ are a great place to start for anyone looking to break down and understand this issue holistically. Each of these pillars are dedicated to a contributing factor that can affect the physical and mental health of an individual.

By assessing each of these points, and addressing any issues which may come up within these categories, we can then start to move towards identifying and repairing anything that may be preventing us from living happier and healthier lives as individuals, and as a team.

The ‘7 Pillars of Wellbeing’

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) the 7 pillars of wellbeing are as follows:

  1. Health. e.g physical health, safety and mental health.
  2. Good work e.g. manageable work demands, good line management, inclusive culture.
  3. Values and Principles. e.g a clear mission, ethical standards, diversity and inclusion.
  4. Collective and Social. e.g positive relationships, employee voice.
  5. Personal Growth. e.g creativity, career development, emotional, lifelong learning.
  6. Good lifestyle choices. e.g physical activity and healthy eating.
  7. Financial wellbeing e.g fair pay and benefits policies, retirement planning, and employee financial support.

How do we implement the ‘7 Pillars of Wellbeing’?

A key first step in tackling workplace wellbeing involves thoroughly understanding your current business practices and their influence on your team’s physiological and psychological health.

At Harrier, we often encourage businesses and event organisers to prioritise and support the mental health of their workforce. Not only do these conversations help equip companies with the right knowledge and information to bolster the wellbeing of their team, but they also help these companies know how to look for common pitfalls and gaps within their business so they can be avoided and addressed.

It’s vital to have a solid understanding of how you’re operating as a whole, as this will highlight the first few steps required to create a solid action needed for creating a healthier working environment.

These steps could look like:

  • Allowing your employees to express their wellbeing needs or concerns, through a focus group.
  • Creating a survey for your team that will highlight blindspots within the company and areas of potential growth.
  • Reviewing your current workplace wellbeing policy to search for any points that need updating

It’s also important to acknowledge that elements outside of the workplace – such as financial, health or relationship issues – can also have a negative impact on the wellbeing of your team. Although these issues may lie outside the direct control of your company, a responsible employer should strive to provide support during challenging life circumstances.

Helping businesses care for the wellbeing of their employees and customers is a key part of what we do at Harrier. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you, get in touch with our friendly team here!

New Menopause and periods guidance promotes workplace inclusivity and support

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has taken a significant step towards breaking taboos by publishing a comprehensive workplace standard focused on periods, menstrual health, and menopause. Aimed at helping employers retain talented individuals, the standard encourages open conversations and dispels misconceptions surrounding periods, menopause and perimenopause.

We were really pleased to see this big step forward as we’ve believed for a long time in the significance of addressing these topics and providing on-site support. In the events industry, we need to continue to challenge outdated practices that were designed when women were not equally represented or prioritised as employees.

At Harrier, we firmly believe that people are at their best when they work in supportive environments where all employees feel valued and understood. We’re proud of the way our clients also embrace this way of thinking enabling us to work together on initiatives that support event teams and create a more inclusive work environment.

At many of the events we work at, we provide a designated box of sanitary products for employees who may have found themselves caught without immediate access to essentials. Placing these supplies in a visible but appropriate location, easily accessible to everyone, not only provides practical support but also encourages positive conversations about periods.

While the BSI standard provides examples of adjustments that can be made, it also acknowledges that the experiences and impacts of menstrual health and menopause can vary greatly among employees.

Here are some of the main aims of the new standard:

  • Increase awareness and understanding

One of the core standards is the need to raise awareness about periods and menopause. Education and open dialogue are crucial in dispelling misconceptions and reducing the stigma surrounding these natural phases.

  • Train managers to understand the potential impact

The BSI emphasises the importance of training supervisors and managers to understand the potential impact of periods and menopause on employees’ wellbeing and work performance. By providing managers with the necessary knowledge and resources, companies can ensure a supportive environment where employees feel they can discuss any challenges they may be facing.

  • Ensure accessible facilities

To promote inclusivity and support employees, employers could assess and improve the accessibility of facilities. Adequate sanitary products and disposal facilities could be readily available and private spaces for changing or managing menstrual health-related issues could be helpful to enable employees to feel comfortable and supported.

  • Review and adapt policies

Companies are being encouraged to review their existing policies to make sure they adequately address the needs of employees experiencing periods or menopause. This could include policies related to sick leave, flexible working arrangements and providing alternative options for people experiencing severe symptoms.

The publication of the workplace standard on periods, menstrual health, and menopause by the BSI marks a significant step forward for employees across the UK. We fully support the new standard and will continue working closely with our clients to help them facilitate open conversations, dispel misconceptions and promote workplace inclusivity.

If you’d like to see how we can support the safety of your team and visitors at your next event, get in touch with our friendly team today.

Time to Talk Day 2024

Time to Talk Day 2024 is happening today and is the UK’s biggest mental health conversation. It’s a day for friends, families, communities and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

As event health and safety specialists, while we’re on site working at events, the majority of our time is spent ‘on the ground’. We’re not sitting at desks; we’re out alongside the event team actively engaged and observing what’s happening.

At each event, we’re monitoring safety protocols, offering guidance and answering questions on specific H&S matters, but a large part of our role also involves watching, listening and gaining a sense of how teams are functioning. We get a feel for how teams are working together helping us to identify potential issues early on, both in terms of the event delivery but also peoples’ mental health and well-being.

But it’s not just about how people are during their working hours. Because we build good relationships working alongside other event workers, we also get to see how people are when they’re not working – whether that’s in crew catering or during breaks elsewhere on site. It gives us a well-rounded feel for whether people are comfortable and happy or are in need of support.

But what happens if something doesn’t feel quite right? Identifying that someone is struggling can be difficult. Although many of our onsite team are trained mental health first aiders and can spot the signs that someone is having a tough time, often it’s our intuition that guides us to find an appropriate moment to speak to them and ask, ‘are you OK?’.

Even if someone doesn’t appear on the surface to be struggling, a simple check-in can go a long way. We regularly ask people how they’re doing, not just to spot potential issues, but because it helps to build strong relationships where people feel valued and noticed.

Working on-site at events can be hard for people in the industry. Working away from familiar surroundings, often with new people can be challenging. Sometimes, it can make a huge difference for them to know that someone’s looking out for them. We receive lovely feedback that these informal check-ins are appreciated.

We’re really proud of the culture in our business where it’s safe to speak up and reach out for help if you need it. The charity Calm really speaks to the heart of what we believe which is why we chose to support it as our charity of the year. We must all work together to keep the conversation about mental health going and keep people safe.

On this Time to Talk day, check in with the people around you and ask ‘how are you’. It could be the one question they need to be asked to enable them to open up and have an important conversation.

If you are in need of support, you can access Calm’s resources for free or you can find out how to help someone you’re worried about.

An honour to be finalists for the fourth time

Festival supplier swwards 24 shortlisted

On Thursday 25th January 2024, we attended The Festival Supplier Awards 2024 where we were finalists for the fourth time in the Best Health and Safety Category.

Although we didn’t take home the win this year, being recognised alongside the other fantastic companies was an honour and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. The nomination process gave us the opportunity to reflect on our successes over the past year and just how much we’ve achieved.

Speaking about the awards, our Managing Director, Helen McCabe said: 

“Although we didn’t win the award this year, it’s an incredible achievement to have been shortlisted as finalists four times. We’re grateful we get to work in a fantastic industry and we’re incredibly proud to work with each and every one of our clients. Thank you to our wonderful team who genuinely care about everyone on site, whether they’re working or enjoying themselves. Your commitment to what you do is inspiring.”

You can read more about the events we’ve supported and our client testimonials here.

Taking sustainable steps as a responsible business: Our journey with ecolibrium

Taking sustainable steps as a responsible business: Our journey with ecolibrium

As a company who takes our responsibility to the environment seriously, we’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint and working towards a sustainable future. We’re really proud to be working with the ecolibrium programme, a transformative initiative that helps us identify and offset our carbon footprint caused by team commutes to work on events, both nationally and internationally.

ecolibrium is a live events industry response to the climate crisis – uniting a community of events, festivals, suppliers, artists and music companies in environmental restoration by moving climate action and low-carbon travel into the heart of live events culture. It empowers companies like ours to take proactive measures in reducing our carbon emissions. We gather travel information from across our team, which allows us to calculate our carbon offset.

This calculated offset then enables us to make a meaningful financial contribution to our chosen ecolibrium project –Trees+. Through this programme we can mitigate the impacts of unavoidable travel CO2e emissions by investing in climate solutions.


Every tonne of CO2e balanced by the Trees+ programme includes:

  • Offsetting: Balancing carbon emissions through verified projects: UK government approved Woodland Carbon Code for projects in the UK, Verified Carbon Standard or REDD+ standard for projects worldwide.
  • Protection: Protecting areas of threatened rainforest – reducing deforestation and protecting biodiversity.
  • Regeneration: Social and environmental regeneration through tree planting, sustainable farming, forestry protection and local governance in parts of the world most at risk from climate change.  

In 2022, we successfully offset 14.33 tonnes of CO2E, equivalent to 51,961 company travel miles, through tree planting, rainforest protection, and ecosystem restoration.

In 2023, we’re proud to have offset our carbon levels in 2023 with circa 40 trees planted and 14 acres protected (3072 tCo2e stored).

Joining the ecolibrium programme means becoming part of a community united in ecosystem restoration and sustainability. Our contribution is supporting the ambition to move low carbon travel to the heart of the live events culture by protecting threatened rainforest, planting trees and protecting biodiversity. By using our voice for positive change, we’re not only cutting our travel carbon emissions but also funding community-led clean energy projects and investing in a low carbon future.

Together, as a united force for sustainability, we’re confident that our efforts, along with those of the ecolibrium community will pave the way for a cleaner, greener future for the live events industry and beyond.

You can learn more about ecolibrium by visiting their website.

Harrier shortlisted for Festival Supplier Awards 2024

We’re delighted to announce that for the 4th year running, we’ve been named as finalists at the Festival Suppliers Awards 2024 in the Best Health and Safety Category.

Through our ethos of Putting People First, we provide health and safety support for events and festivals of all sizes. Our team of event safety advisors work nationally and internationally and have over 20 years’ experience working with clients in the events industry.

Helen McCabe, our Managing Director said “We believe safety must work in harmony with whatever people do, whether that’s taking centre stage as a performer or working behind the scenes. We pride ourselves on being a trusted partner to our clients, taking an active role during every phase to make sure everything runs safely and smoothly. We’re really thrilled to be recognised and named as finalists for the 4th year running as this is such a competitive category.”

Michelle Tayton, event director of the Festival Supplier Awards comments: “The quality of our shortlisted suppliers is outstanding, a welcome reminder of the excellence and professionalism that exists within the outdoor event and festival industry. We’re delighted that Harrier has been recognised for its pursuit of excellence, given the tough competition in its field.”

With a focus on delivery, customer service and sustainable initiatives, the awards are judged by an esteemed panel of high-profile industry experts. These include: Harry Guthrie, HG Event Production; John Adkins, JA Productions; Catherine Bishop, The Game Fair; Paul Dunstan, Ryder Cup; Saoirse Holland, Raver Tots; Kim Bickell, CSG Events; Frankie Tee, EnTEEtainment; Ben Hardy, REM Events; Jess Noakes, LS Events; Mark Currie, Royal Highland Show; Susan Gibson, Culture Liverpool; ben Craddock, London Marathon Events; Neil Levene, CarFest; John Rostron, Association of Independent Festivals and Liz Thompson, IMG.

The Festival Suppliers Awards are now in their ninth year and were developed to recognise, reward and promote best practise in the outdoor event and festival sector. The ceremony takes place on Thursday 25th January 2024 at the Hurlingham Club in London.