About the Award

Award Criteria

There are 6 levels to the Award – Foundation, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Continuing Excellence and Maintaining Excellence, with appropriate criteria at each stage to build into an Award Portfolio. Organisations are given up to a year per level, but there is flexibility for those who need it.

Evidence indicates that it takes a period of time to effectively establish the infrastructure that will engage employees in adopting behaviours / lifestyle changes.

This is why ALL employers are required to begin at Bronze and progress systematically upwards through the levels (It is not mandatory to complete the Foundation level before signing up to complete Bronze level - see below). Every employer/ organisation who signs-up to participate in the Award scheme is supported by a dedicated Health Improvement Specialist.

Foundation - a discrete “pre-Bronze” level for any organisations who are new to workplace health and wellbeing or have limited capacity and feel they would benefit from a lighter-touch introduction. It is not mandatory to undertake this before signing up to Bronze.

Bronze - The Bronze level lays a firm foundation to build a healthier workplace.

Silver - The Silver level of the Award builds upon the basics of the Bronze level and rewards organisations that take a more holistic view of the workplace.

Gold - This level builds upon the Silver level and requires companies to look outside their own organisation and promote health within the wider community.

Continuing Excellence - This recognises the importance of organisations sustaining the progress they have made during their participation in the Award and encourages them to use their experience to support others.

Maintaining Excellence - Achieved by employers who have been engaged with the Award for long enough to have achieved a pass at all levels via the completion of a criteria document, portfolio and full workplace assessment.

Ambassador Status - Organisations are eligible for Ambassador Status on achievement of Maintaining Excellence and with the recommendation of their designated Workplace Health Improvement Specialist. This is then passed through to the BHAWA Verification Panel for endorsement.

"We recognise the importance of prioritising employee health and wellbeing, not just as a responsibility but as a core part of our culture and values.

The Award has really helped us to move from ad-hoc initiatives to a more strategic, proactive and sustainable approach to supporting our people and wider communities. We particularly like the sense of community and shared learning with the Award coordinators and other workplaces who make wellbeing a workplace priority".

- END. Sunderland, Maintaining Excellence Level achieved 2024

We wanted to be able to share wellbeing initiatives we were proud of but at the same time receive feedback on anything that was missing or could be enhanced.

Love being part of the Award process - gives structure to our wellbeing plans for the year and showcases the amazing work our people do to support each other and our teams.

- EDF Energy, Sunderland

The award is beneficial to the organisation as it prompts us to think outside the box, extend our health and wellbeing support into new and important areas that we might not necessarily touch upon usually; and it also holds us to account for conducting high quality, meaningful campaigns.

We joined the Award to ensure that our health and wellbeing work goes above and beyond the requirements outlined by the NHS health and wellbeing framework, helping to ensure that we support our colleagues across a variety of areas and that we can demonstrate excellence in doing so.

- Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Gateshead

The award is a declaration of our commitment to building a healthy and happy workplace culture for every employee. Designing a positive and engaging health and wellbeing offer where health inequalities are reduced is so important to us and we know we will achieve this with the support of BHAWA.

The award process provides structure for Better Health at Work. It provides support, guidance and networking opportunities to learn and improve. The opportunity to collaborate and hear about others practice across the region is always inspiring, we always come away buzzing with ideas.

- Sunderland City Council, Sunderland

"We loved the fact that the award has a local focus about wellbeing in the North-East. The framework it provides is exceptional.

The support and network are invaluable. You don't feel like you're starting from scratch, there's always someone with an idea of what they've tried.

The portal is great. It has a huge number of resources and it's easy to use and access. It's helped us with campaigns where we've less experience, and they're now part of our annual calendar".

- Karbon Homes, Newcastle, Maintaining Excellence Level achieved 2024

To continue to embed Health and Wellbeing in our workforce and to promote and support them to lead healthy lifestyles at work and also at home with their families.

The award gives us structure to assist us in our Health & Wellbeing meetings, giving us the resources and knowledge to lead different campaigns and events to help support our workplace. The award supports our Health & Wellbeing Strategy.

- The Banks Group Ltd, Durham