Revealed: British Workplace Wellbeing Award Finalists

The finalists for the 2023 Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards have been unveiled ahead of the national final in March next year.

Britain’s ambassadors for better wellbeing and satisfaction in the workplace are being highlighted for the second year. The Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards were founded last year by the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in partnership with industry expert Wellity Global to bring conversations around workplace standards to the fore, and give leaders in the wellbeing space a platform to inspire others.

The inaugural awards saw trailblazing individuals and businesses big and small including Student Beans, Pets at Home Group PLC, KFC and Yorkshire Building Society recognised for their policies surrounding work-life balance, diversity and inclusion, and mental and physical health.

With over 500 applications, the 2023 shortlist has proven to be equally distinguished and diverse, spanning numerous industries and corners of the UK, according to the organisers. The Grand Final will be hosted for the second year by Wynne Evans, who can be seen regularly singing to millions for the TV advertising campaign that has made him a household name as the spoof opera star Gio Compario.

HAPPIER & HEALTHIER WORKPLACES

The nominees will be whittled down to winners by a panel of expert judges from the wellbeing space across 16 categories including Wellbeing Team of the Year, Best Mental Wellbeing Initiative and Most Inspiring Employee of the Year. Industry leaders from Gymshark, TikTok and Wagamama are among many other members of the 2023 judging panel.

Founder of the awards Francesca James said that a happier and healthier workforce is needed going forwards “In recent years, a growing ‘hustle culture’ has made people believe that they need to work long, unsociable hours, miss out on social occasions and put their job above everything else to be successful. This has since been countered by the rise of ‘quiet quitting’, which has seen exhausted and dissatisfied employees working-to-rule and putting in minimal effort,” highlighted James. “This dichotomy is evidence that, on both sides of the coin, the support from employers and colleagues is lacking and the relationship between people and their work life still needs to be addressed. The finalists for this year’s awards have been selected as they are at the very forefront of the drive for improvement and demonstrate huge dedication to building a workforce that feels both respected and motivated to achieve.

According to James, the judges now have some tough decisions on their hands in crowning the winners for each category. “I look forward to finding out who they will be on awards night and wish all of the finalists the very best,” he added. 

PASSIONATE WELLBEING CHAMPIONS

Simon Scott-Nelson, Co-founder of Wellity Global and the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards was impressed by the applicants. “It’s fantastic to have received so many inspiring applications from passionate wellbeing champions for a second year. The standard of entries was incredible, so the finalists should be very proud to have made it to the shortlist,” said Scott-Nelson. “The growing appetite for change within the workplace is clear from the sheer volume of dedicated entrants committed to making working lives better in their respective industries. Changing working cultures is something nobody can do alone, and it is only through the collaborative efforts of so many hard-working people that working lives can be transformed. We applaud all of the finalists for the important work they are doing to further this cause and are delighted to be offering a much-deserved opportunity for them to be recognised.”

The final of the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards will be held at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London in March 2023.

BRITISH WELLBEING AWARDS FINALISTS

Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards 2023 finalists are as follows:

Best Wellbeing in the Workplace Strategy: SME

• Aspectus Group
• Brightstar Group
• Citrus Group
• City to Sea
• Comply Direct
• Flagstone Group 
• Inspired Villages Group
• MA (Montreal Associates)
• Something Big
• Talking Tables

Best Mental Wellbeing Initiative

• Arnold Clark
• Birmingham Airport 
• EMCOR UK
• Forterra UK
• IPG Health UK
• Law Business Research
• MSI Reproductive Choices
• Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Southeastern Railway
• RCI Europe
• RSPB (Royal Society for Protection of Birds)

Best Wellbeing Service Provider

• Allen Carr’s Easyway (Int) 
• Cognomie
• Health Assured 
• Kiteline Health
• Recovery4Life
• SiSU Health Group
• SuperWellness
• Virgin Pulse
• We Are Wellbeing 
• YuLife

Team of the Year

• Bentley Motor Cars
• Black Country Women’s Aid
• E.ON
• Here for You support programme for health and care staff in Hertfordshire and Essex
• Higgs LLP
• Pets at Home Group PLC
• South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
• Team ITG
• Wealden District Council
• Wickes

Best Support for Remote Workers

• Emerald Group
• Equator
• Intellek
• Military Coworking Network
• Progeny
• Re-engage
• TACT – The Adolescent & Children’s Trust
• The British Academy
• UKROEd
• Wealden District Council

Best Wellbeing in the Workplace Strategy: Large Organisation

• Anglian Water
• Capita
• Centrica Plc
• ClearScore
• dentsu
• DHL Supply Chain UKI
• NSPCC
• Sony Interactive Entertainment
• TM Group
• Yodel

Breaking the Silence Award

• Dr Rebecca Brady, Medical Director at HCML
• Emma Davies, Wellbeing & Community Coordinator at BFBS
• Emma Everitt, Visual Design Lead at Avanade UK 
• Fiona Skinner, Founder & CEO of The Fertility Coaching Company
• Mark Vickers, Programme Manager & Lead of Wellbeing Colleague Network at Wickes
• Melanie Redfern, Senior People Operations Advisor at Atkins
• Penny Hamilton, HR Manager at Wincanton
• Steve Blackwell, Learning & Development Partner at The National Deaf Children’s Society
• The Wellbeing Team, Logan Construction (SE)
• Victoria Holmes, Employee Communications Executive, EMEA and APAC at Nuveen

Lifetime Commitment to Wellbeing

• Charlie Claydon, Director of The Well Bean Co.
• Jan Smith, CEO of Healthy You
• Jodie Greer, Founder & CEO of Be #PeopleSmart
• Kathryn Taylor, Counsellor and Coach at Balance Counselling and Coaching
• Lee Chambers, Director of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing
• Louise Boston, Strategic Health & Wellbeing Manager at E.ON
• Rosemary Whittington, Director of Me2u Centre
• Sheila Champion-Smeeth, Global Head of Wellbeing, People and Communities at Cisco

Most Inspiring Employee of the Year

• Bee Ludolf, Content Marketing Manager at daysout.com
• Christina Ioannou, Solicitor at Lawrence Stephens 
• Daniel Mitrovic, Desk Data Insight and Planning Manager at Openreach
• Fee Teng Liew, Head of Communications at Hashtag Me
• Josh Abbott, Practice Lead at Revoco
• Natalie Sutherland, Partner at Burgess Mee Family Law
• Taiyler Jamerson, Labour Manager at McGinley Support Services
• Steve Schofield, Lead Business Analyst at Boots

Best Use of Tech

• HOKO Design
• Loopin
• Luxtripper
• MindYourself App
• Private House Stays
• Scottish Midland Co-operative Society
• TechNET IT Recruitment 
• The Wellbeing Project

Best Physical Wellbeing Initiative

• Anthesis
• Austin Fraser
• INEOS
• Legal & General
• MOI Global
• Sophie Trotman Nutrition
• The Newt in Somerset
• YFN Global 

Most Inspiring HR Leader of the Year

• Adele Currie, Director of People and Culture at Golden Lane Housing
• Angie McKenna, Head of People & Culture, Warmth, Smiles & Fun at ASquared
• Elly Horsey, Human Resources Manager at Onalytica
• Frances Williams, Head of People at Playtonic
• Juliet Mortiss, Ingeus
• Rhiannon Williams, Head of Agency at Zen Communications
• Richard Freke, Managing Director of H2R Selection

Best Wellbeing in the Workplace Strategy: Public Sector

• ASEE 
• Cambridgeshire Constabulary
• Civil Nuclear Constabulary
• Fife College
• Health Care First Partnership
• Humberside Police
• NEL ICS Workforce Wellbeing & Resilience Hub
• Ofcom
• Oscar Kilo, The National Police Wellbeing Service
• Transport for Greater Manchester

Most Inspiring Senior Leader of the Year

• Chris Tipping, Marketing Director of The DM Lab
• Dave Allen, CEO of Brandpie
• Milena Scardacchi, COO & HR Director of Xerendipity Corporation
• Steve Lowy, CEO of Anglo Educational Services
• Victoria Johnson, CEO of VetCT
• Victoria Sylvester, CEO of Acacia Training

Best Financial Wellbeing Initiative

• Acacia Training
• Brandpie
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Hubble
• Liason Group
• Samsic UK
• The AA

To find out more about the awards, click here.

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