Legal and General Announces Winners of Not a Red Card Awards

October 11, 2019 

Leading financial services company, Legal & General (L&G) has announced the winners of its second Not a Red Card Awards - celebrating businesses and individuals which have developed and implemented best practices around addressing mental health in the workplace. 

The Awards and Forum, which took place on 1 October, were developed in collaboration with our consultancy arm, thinkBeyond. 

TV sports presenter, Kirsty Gallacher, hosted the awards held at The Oval in London, which recognised businesses who have demonstrated how they have tackled the issue of mental health in the workplace and have exhibited tangible tactics that can be shared with other organisations looking to address mental health.

In the UK, it is estimated that 300,000 employees leave their jobs each year due to mental ill health, costing employers £33billion - £42billion per year.  Additionally, mental ill health has been the biggest cause of claims on the L&G Group Income Protection policies since 1999, with it only marginally being the second highest cause across the industry (with 24.1% of claims against 24.5% to cancer). 

This demonstrates the gravity of the issue of mental health in the workplace, and the cost of taking action. That’s why since 2017, thinkBeyond has collaborated with L&G on a campaign which uses sport to raise awareness of, and encourage businesses to talk about, and take action on, mental health in the workplace. 

Using famous sport personalities to make content more relatable and impactful, and to share stories of inspiration, L&G are pushing progress and working out what needs to be done.  

An important part of taking things forward and making sure progress is made is the Not A Red Card Forum. Held each year since 2017, the Forum gives businesses the opportunity to not just talk about the issue, but also to take action. A wide range of resources and tools have been created to provide support with this, and examples of existing best practice were shared through the Not A Red Card Awards. 

Winners were chosen from an impressive shortlist from large and small business, and individuals, that have created initiatives and take positive steps to help raise awareness of mental health in the workplace. Companies featuring on the shortlist included Barclays, Newcastle United Foundation, GKN Aerospace and Affinity for Business. 

2019 Not A Red Card Awards winners:

• Best Mental Health Initiative (Large Company) – Arcadis LLP
• Best Mental Health Initiative (SME) – Affinity for Business 
• The Collaboration Award – Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice 
• Innovative Use of Sport – School of Hard Knocks 
• The Inspiration Award – Dan Keeley, #AREWEOKUK
• The Leadership Award – Helen Gillett, Affinity for Business 

The Awards concluded a day of engaging content which included world class speakers, interactive panel discussions, and deep-dive discussions. Attendees heard from a range of speakers about the importance of having open discussions around mental health, as well as practical guidance and resources which can be used to take action around these issues.

Double Olympic Champion, Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes and former footballing legend Clarke Carlisle opened up about their struggles with mental ill health, that led them to challenge the audience on how they can take ownership and inspire action in their workplaces, while other speakers such as Poppy Jaman, CEO City Mental Health Alliance, Suzy McCormick, Joint Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing, Department for Transport and Geoff McDonald, Business Transformation Advisor & Mental Health Campaigner discussed their experiences of the size of the challenge around mental health in the workplace, and the support that is available to address those challenges. 

In addition to the five category awards, the judges awarded three outstanding individuals and companies for their contribution to advancing mental wellness practices:

• Judge’s Award for Impactful Conversations – E. G. Lewis 
• Judge’s Award for Societal Impact – Barclays
• Judge’s Award for Authenticity and Perseverance – Craig Monaghan

For more information on the other winners, Legal and General’s work to address mental health, and the award-winning Not A Red Card campaign click here.