EMCOR UK Elevates Wellbeing to the Heart of Business Operations

- Facilities management provider appoints new Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing to oversee strategic delivery of enhanced offering -

 

London, 8 April 2019: EMCOR UK, leading facilities management provider, has today announced the appointment of Jonathan Gawthrop to the newly created role of Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HS&W). The appointment further supports the dynamic progress already made by EMCOR UK in the wellbeing field, and serves to underline its importance and association with health and safety in the modern facilities management industry.

Jonathan joined EMCOR UK in 2011, most recently serving as Operations Director, responsible for a multimillion portfolio of national accounts in multiple business sectors. Joining the executive leadership team of EMCOR UK, Jonathan will now take responsibility for the delivery of the provider’s health, safety and wellbeing strategy around the country, focusing on people and risk intelligence.

Prior to his appointment, Jonathan also completed an MSc Behaviour Change (Health and Wellbeing) at The University of Derby, and is passionate about integrating his academic expertise into his new responsibilities. He has also served as an independent verifier to the Mayor of London’s Healthy Workplace Charter, is a specialist member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) and sits on advisory boards for a number of cross industry working parties evolving HS&W in the UK.

In recent year’s EMCOR UK has made huge strides to install and integrate wellbeing as a foundation of their business offering and culture, both for staff and customers. Six health and wellbeing pillars have been created as a result of focus group engagement, leading to the appointment of wellbeing champions and site culture groups at sites across the country. These local teams are critical to the success and evolution of the organisations HS&W strategy, helping to support and empower employees in relation to their physiological and psychological safety. Jonathan himself has been integral to the EMCOR UK belief that without fostering a company culture where HS&W is a top priority, they cannot expect to help their customers do the same with their own employees.

Jonathan Gawthrop, on his new appointment, said: “We want to ensure that we are proactively creating an environment in which our teams are able to thrive through a culture of mutual understanding and respect for each another’s mental and physical health. Over time at EMCOR UK, we have worked hard to fully understand what this looks like for all our employees and designed different interventions to make sure that our teams feel that they are treated well and fairly with good health at the centre. As we continue this journey we are at a point where we are able to share our unique industry expertise with our customers to support their own HS&W journeys. The combination of health, safety and wellbeing means a lot to me as an individual and in my new role I look forward to working towards improving the workplace and society now and for the future.

EMCOR UK has an excellent track record to build upon when it comes to its culture of health, safety and wellbeing. In 2018 it was one of the first companies in the world to be certified to ISO 45001 the new international standard for Occupational Health and Safety. Most recently, it won an International Safety Award with Merit from the British Safety Council for the tenth year in a row. The award recognises EMCOR UK’s continuing commitment to keeping their workers and workplaces healthy every day. In the past decade, EMCOR UK has been awarded over fifty British Safety Council and RoSPA awards.

Keith Chanter, CEO, EMCOR UK, said: “At EMCOR UK we work really hard to ensure the highest health, safety and wellbeing standards are met, and exceeded, across our organisation. For our customers and us, wellbeing must be prioritised to the same levels that health and safety have been traditionally. I’m pleased that Jonathan, bringing his extensive expertise to the role, will be spearheading this for us as a business and helping our customers realise a healthier and more productive workplace.”

Click here to read more about health, safety and wellbeing at EMCOR UK.