Trustee Introduces Workplace Suicide Prevention Initiative

The ‘Workplace Pledge’ is a practical programme guiding employers towards exemplary levels of suicide prevention.

The Baton of Hope Trustee, Ben Wilson, used his speech at the charity’s inaugural conference to publicly announce details of our first in a series of charters for suicide prevention.

The Workplace Pledge is a practical programme guiding employers towards exemplary levels of suicide prevention. A team of specialists have been working for over a year to design the package which has attracted UK-wide interest among major companies.

Ben said: “The Baton of Hope said from the outset that apart from raising awareness and campaigning to smash the stigma we would introduce tangible changes in an effort to reduce the suicide statistics by helping to save lives. Too often employers, be they small or large, are unsure how to tackle mental health issues among their workforce and it’s too easy to get drawn in to schemes that are not supported by clinical expertise.

“Prevention is part of our DNA but the Workplace Pledge also provides guidance on how to respond to suicide or bereavement by suicide. This issue is too important to ignore or handover to under qualified set-ups.”

If you would like to find out more about the Workplace Pledge, please visit our dedicated page.