Information and documents relating to staff wellbeing in higher education

The request was partially successful.

Dear The Institute of Cancer Research,

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would be interested in any information held by your organisation regarding my request on staff wellbeing in Higher Education (HE).

I would like to request the following information, covering the last 12 months:

1. The job title of the senior manager with lead responsibility for staff wellbeing in the University.
2. The number of mental health specialist staff available within the university to support staff wellbeing.
3. A copy of the University’s Policy (procedures)/other relevant document(s) to support the wellbeing of staff.
4. The type of services offered to support staff wellbeing in the University
5. The number of referrals to services offered where staff wellbeing was a primary reason for the referral
6. Staff take up (number) by each service offered to support staff wellbeing.

Please provide the above information in the form of electronic files.

If it is not possible to provide the information required due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in section 12, please provide assistance under section 16, obligation of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to receiving the above information.

Yours faithfully,

Vida Douglas

foi, The Institute of Cancer Research

Dear V Douglas,

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, confirms receipt of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will respond in due course.

Regards,

The ICR Freedom of Information Office

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foi, The Institute of Cancer Research

2 Attachments

Dear V Douglas,

Thank you for your email to The Institute of Cancer Research, London, requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find our response below:

1. The job title of the senior manager with lead responsibility for staff wellbeing in the University.
Chief Operating Officer and Director of HR
2. The number of mental health specialist staff available within the university to support staff wellbeing.
We do not employ mental health specialists, however our staff have access to a confidential, free of charge Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, including telephone and face to face counselling. They also have access to Occupational Health services and we have 19 Wellbeing Advisers, the majority of whom have undergone Mental Health Awareness training (with the remainder being trained in February 2019). The Wellbeing Adviser is a voluntary role undertaken by ICR staff and students.
3. A copy of the University’s Policy (procedures)/other relevant document(s) to support the wellbeing of staff.
We are currently writing a Wellbeing Strategy. In the meantime we provide information to new and existing staff on our EAP, and have a Wellbeing page on our intranet site with signposting to related resources. Our Wellbeing Advisers also have a list of resources (attached). Our EAP also provides online resources.
4. The type of services offered to support staff wellbeing in the University
Employee Assistance Programme, Occupational Health, onsite gym facilities (Sutton site), exercise classes including Yoga and Pilates (both sites), Wellbeing Advisers, confidential bullying, harassment and whistleblowing hotline (phone and online), free flu vaccinations.
5. The number of referrals to services offered where staff wellbeing was a primary reason for the referral
Although we receive usage statistics from our EAP and OH service, "Wellbeing" is not one of the defined subject matters and therefore the number of calls to the EAP service, or referrals to Occupational Health on general wellbeing cannot be determined.
6. Staff take up (number) by each service offered to support staff wellbeing.
Our confidential hotline was only introduced in the last few months so usage statistics are not yet available. In the period January 2017 to December 2017 there were 340 Occupational Health consultations excluding pre-employment screenings, vaccinations, blood tests and travel advice. In the period January 2017 to December 2017, there were 39 cases managed by our EAP, which equates to approximately 3.75% of staff.

I trust this satisfies your request.

If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may ask The Institute to conduct a review of this decision. To do this, please contact the Information Governance Manager in writing using this email address, describe the original request, explain your grounds for dissatisfaction, and include an address for correspondence. You should submit your complaint as soon as possible and within 2 months of receiving this response.

Regards

The ICR Freedom of Information Office

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