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Supporting you during your employment

A welcome from the chief executive

Thank you for applying for a qualified social work role at Blackpool Council.

We know that social work is a rewarding, but demanding profession and that it is not always easy to look after your own health and well-being whilst also meeting the needs of others day in and day out.

It is important to us that our social workers remain healthy and we therefore provide a range of support mechanisms in order to help them to address their own emotional wellbeing.

This support also helps to meet the HCPC Standards of Proficiency by helping our employees to understand the importance of maintaining their own health and well-being and also encouraging them to highlight any health issues that may impact on their work.

Neil Jack
Chief executive

Employee assistance programme

This is a 24 hour telephone helpline that is available 7 days a week.

A call can help you deal with many of life’s ups and downs and the service is there not just for a crisis.

Information is available on a wide range of topics including:

  • Legal
  • Debt
  • Finance
  • Caring responsibilities
  • Stress

Pressure (stress) management

Some level of stress can be acceptable however there are times when this stress may become unacceptable and lead to ill health.

We therefore have a policy for managing work related pressure.

Self risk assessment tool for work related pressure

This is a self-help tool employees can use if they are feeling stressed. It includes hints, tips and signposting.

Coping with pressure training

This half-day course is mandatory for all of employees. It covers how to spot the signs and symptoms of stress and provides employees with coping mechanisms.

Occupational health service

Our occupational health team are an in-house team of nurses with access to an occupational health doctor.

The role of the team is to provide impartial advice to employees and their manager with regards to possible adjustments, which may help an employee to remain in or return to work despite symptoms of ill health.

They also have the facility to refer employees onto a physiotherapist or talking therapies if appropriate.

Managing work related pressure training

This is a mandatory e-learning course for all managers. It covers their responsibilities as a manager and how to support their employees

Your safety

Employee safety is paramount and to help ensure this, there are various health and safety training courses available.

These include “personal safety” which is available both online and face to face.