CASE STUDY: Kier

Working through the Lighthouse Club, Kier helps to provide mental health and wellbeing support to its supply chain as well as its own employees.

Every working day in the UK and Ireland, two construction workers take their own life, and over 20 per cent of recorded work-related absence in the industry is caused by stress, anxiety or depression.

Kier is a company supporter of the Lighthouse Club, which provides mental health and wellbeing support to thousands of construction workers across the UK.

Kier offers a wealth of support to its own colleagues via apps like Peppy (https://peppy.health/) and Thrive (https://thrive.uk.com/), through Mental Health First Aider training, and benefits such as the employee assistance programme and 24/7 virtual GP access.

Kier’s partnership with the Lighthouse Club not only adds to this support but also ensures that it is also accessible to people working within the wider supply chain, meaning thousands more people have access to support when they need it.

Kier is able to offer employees and supply chain support via a range of services – including free construction-focused training programmes, and a 24/7 confidential helpline with free translation for over 200 languages, meaning that anyone can access help when he or she needs it, without a language barrier. For those who aren’t comfortable reaching out for help on the telephone, people are also able to access a free text support service.

Kier Group’s health, safety, wellbeing and sustainability director Chris Lilley said:  “We want to ensure our people and supply chain go home safely every day. By looking after the wellbeing of our people and those from our valued supply chain, we’re supporting them to bring their best selves to work and encouraging them to make safe decisions”.

Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Club said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have Kier on board as a Company Supporter. It’s vital that every level of our construction community knows that we have a huge variety of free and easily-accessible wellbeing support, and we are really looking forward to working together to help improve our workforce wellbeing”.