9 July 2018

Bank of England hosted a training evening run by one of its charities of the year, Child Bereavement UK. The event, Supporting your staff and customers through bereavement, was hosted by Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation, Sam Woods, and attended by Bank staff and representatives from a range of City firms.

Attendees at Child Bereavement UK’s training event for City staff

Bereavement is one of the most common factors affecting employees’ performance at work, with an estimated 1 in 10 employees affected at any point in time. It has been identified as a major life event that can cause or exacerbate mental health conditions, yet research has shown that bereaved people are being failed by a lack of support in the workplace.

• A Child Bereavement UK YouGov Omnibus 2016 survey reported that less than a third (32%) of British adults working at the time said they had felt very supported by their employer.
• Key findings of a 2014 report, based on research by Comres, found that 56% would consider leaving their job if their employer failed to provide proper support if someone close to them died.

Attendees at the Bank of England event heard from Child Bereavement UK’s Chief Executive, Ann Chalmers, who explained the wide-ranging implications of bereavement in the workplace, including the impact of bereavement on both the organisation and the individual and colleagues, the importance of respecting diversity in bereavement, and how companies can support bereaved employees and their customers.

Child Bereavement UK’s Chief Executive, Ann Chalmers,
with Sam Woods, Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation

This was followed by a talk from bereaved mother and Child Bereavement UK Ambassador, Emily Arch, who shared her personal experience of returning to the workplace after the death of her baby. She highlighted the impact of how her return to work was managed by line managers and colleagues, what was helpful and unhelpful, and the effect it had on her both personally and professionally.

Sam Woods, Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation and Chief Executive Officer of the Prudential Regulation Authority, said:

I was very honoured to host Ann Chalmers and her team from Child Bereavement UK at the Bank this week. Child Bereavement UK does incredible work to provide support to those affected when a child dies or when a child is facing bereavement, and also helps organisations to provide what staff need as they grieve. It is not difficult to understand why Bank staff chose Child Bereavement UK as one of our charities of the year.

Ann Chalmers said:

We are immensely grateful to the Bank of England for helping us to spread the word to their employees, and to other organisations, about the need for employers to recognise their duty of care to the health and wellbeing of their staff following the death of someone important in their life. Organisations that are prepared, are aware of the issues related to bereavement in the workplace, and who have a bereavement framework in place, can mitigate the likely impact on productivity, help reduce absence and improve staff morale.

For more information about Bereavement in the Workplace training, consultancy, and working in partnership, please contact [email protected] or call 01494 568949.

 

ENDS

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Notes for Editors
Child Bereavement UK supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. Last year we trained more than 9,000 professionals, helping them to better understand and meet the needs of bereaved families.

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