Vodafone : Employers Come Together to Promote Benefits of Workplace Wellbeing to Thames Valley Businesses

A new event roadshow, supported by public and private sector employers, shares insight and innovations for creating energised and productive workplaces

The Oxford Academic Health Science Network, established by NHS England to improve health and generate economic growth through innovation, is bringing together major employers including BMW, Johnson & Johnson, Unipart and Vodafone UK, to host a series of roadshows in the Thames Valley region focused on employee wellbeing.

The free linked 'Workplace Wellbeing' events are taking place in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in November 2016. Vodafone UK is hosting one of these on 8 November at its HQ campus in Newbury, Berkshire. Through practical sessions and table discussions, attendees will explore and share experiences, issues and best practice, with input from industry and the NHS to discover where health and wellbeing initiatives are delivering new ways of working and proven benefits both for staff and employers.

Business leaders and senior managers can register their interest in attending the Vodafone event at - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/workforce-health-and-wellbeing-the-private-and-public-imperative-registration-27195625849 - or by contacting Amy Shearman on 01865 784944.

The other events take place in High Wycombe (hosted by Johnson & Johnson) on 3 November and Oxford (hosted by BMW/Unipart) on 10 November.

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), workplace health is a significant public health issue. A 2015 report by the Health and Safety Executive found that each year more than a million working people in the UK experience a work-related illness. This leads to around 27 million lost working days costing the economy an estimated £14.3 billion.

Richard Aspinall, Regional Director for South East at Vodafone UK said: 'Putting employees' physical and mental wellbeing at the forefront of workplace management practices is proven to improve employee satisfaction and performance. At Vodafone UK, this approach has helped us to create great places to work, both at our Newbury HQ and elsewhere across the country, which encourage more effective collaboration as well as better customer service and service delivery. By supporting the Wellbeing Roadshows, we look forward to sharing the learnings from our own initiatives, alongside other workplace innovators, to help business leaders discover new and effective ways they can transform their own environments.'

The events are part of the Get Physical campaign, which aims to advance the take-up of physical activity among NHS staff and patients and the wider workforce in order to improve staff health and wellbeing. The roadshow builds on the success of the first Get Physical event held in December 2015, which brought together over 150 people from wide-ranging backgrounds across healthcare, sports and public health in Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Coordination of this imperative work is led by the Oxford AHSN, Public Health England and the County Sports Partnerships. The focus has now spread to include all employers in the region, large and small, along with their counterparts in the public sector.

Dr William Bird MBE, a GP and Get Physical partner, is speaking at all three events. He said: 'Physical activity reaches the very foundations of illness and helps prevent 23 diseases including depression, diabetes and dementia.

'An active workforce results in 27% fewer days lost to sickness with productivity increasing by up to 15%. It is therefore essential that we get our workforce more active and learn how to do it well.'

About Oxford Academic Health Science Network

The Oxford AHSN is one of 15 Academic Health Science Networks licensed by NHS England to improve health and prosperity through rapid adoption of clinical innovation. It does this through partnerships with industry, the NHS and universities.www.OxfordAHSN.org @OxfordAHSN

The Oxford AHSN coordinates Get Physical which aims to encourage take-up of physical activity to improve health and wellbeing http://getphysical.org.uk/ @GetPhys

Media contacts:

Martin Leaver, Head of Communications, Oxford Academic Health Science Network

07966 174183

Martin.leaver@oxfordahsn.org

About Vodafone UK

Vodafone is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30 June 2016, Vodafone had 465 million mobile customers and 13.7 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.

Vodafone UK partners with businesses of all sizes - from start-ups and small businesses to the largest corporates and the public sector. The company has worked with UK businesses for over 30 years, starting out as a mobile provider and becoming one of the UK's leading total communications partners. It provides a range of voice and data services, secure communications infrastructure, fixed and call centre capability, unified communications and was the first mobile phone operator to offer a truly converged service for fixed and mobile.

Vodafone is currently spending around £1 billion on its network and services across the UK following a similar amount spent last year. This includes £200 million on its network in London, the introduction of its 4G service to more than 871 cities and towns, as well as thousands of smaller communities whilst also making network improvements across its UK 3G network. Meanwhile, The Vodafone Rural Open Sure Signal programme is also aiming to bring 3G coverage for the first time to 100 remote communities across the UK.

Vodafone UK

Vodafone UK Media Relations

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