HSE ANNOUNCES EURO WEEK FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

HSE press release E044:03 - 19 March 2003

Shops, councils, factories, and police forces are among 26 organisations to be presented with prestigious national awards for their efforts to combat workplace stress as part of the European Week for Safety and Health campaign.

Thousands of businesses took part in the annual Week, which happens every October. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which promotes the Week in the UK, is looking to develop management standards for handling stress in the workplace. It will be evaluating some of the winning entries in relation to their stress management policies which could be used in the future as examples of excellence in this field.

The national winners, who will receive their awards at Cardiff City Hall on Thursday evening (20 March), represent the best of the 166 regional winners who were presented with awards in February. Special categories include Best Small Business which was won by Aberdeen Fluid System Technologies Ltd and Best of Last Year's winners won by TXU Energy of Ipswich.

Paralympic athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson, OBE, presented the awards in Cardiff with Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission.

Said Tanni: "I am delighted to be associated with the Week and I would like to offer my congratulations to all the winners. It's so encouraging to hear about the fantastic efforts made by all the participants - whether they won awards or not. As I have found from personal experience, awards and medals are great but it's the taking part and giving it your best shot that really counts.

"The workplace - whether it's an athletic track or a shop floor - can be a hugely stressful place and anything which can reduce needless stress has to be a good thing!"

Among those participating in the campaign was Potley Hill Primary School in Hampshire who invited their pupils to define stress in a poetic style. HSE has published some of the results on its website. An example is attached.

Notes to editors

1. The first European Week was held in 1996 and has since grown into one of the UK's biggest workplace health and safety initiatives.

2. This year's event starts on 13 October and its theme will be 'Dangerous Substances'. An action pack will be available from HSE after 20 May 2003.

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