Working to support employers and employees in one of Scotland’s most rural areas, Richard Smith has to travel to workplaces as far afield as Stranraer and Sanquhar. But when he is meeting organisations in Dumfries, Richard tries to do his bit for the environment – and for his health – by getting on his bike.

“I do try and use my bike in Dumfries to attend meetings, and in many cases it is quicker than driving due to traffic and parking issues,” says Richard, who joined Healthy Working Lives as an adviser three years ago. “I just wear my normal office dress but tuck my tie in and tuck my trousers in as well!

“Many towns now have cycle lanes or quieter routes that can be taken to avoid traffic. As well as the health benefits of keeping active, there are reduced cost and zero CO2 emissions as well as reducing road and parking issues.”

Showing his commitment to a healthier lifestyle isn’t the only way Richard builds a rapport with employers. His previous career was in food safety, and he says he finds this very useful in supporting employers in industry as well as those in the public and voluntary sectors.

“I worked in the food industry for 10 years, partly in training and food safety. I got the job with Healthy Working Lives partly because of my experience in industry – I knew the difficulties employers had in this sector and how to relate to managers and supervisors and staff.”

As Dumfries and Galloway is a smaller region in terms of population, Richard covers both health promotion and support for employers who have signed up for the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme.

Richard says he has helped many employers to transfer to the new Award Programme from the previous Scotland’s Health at Work (SHAW) scheme.

“I have had quite a few new sign-ups that weren’t signed up to SHAW and they are finding it fine,” he says. “In the region we have had two awards, a Bronze and a Silver so far.”

Richard adds that the two awardees – The Food Train and The Richmond Fellowship Scotland – are excellent examples of how small organisations with small budgets can take part.

“They are both charities and small voluntary organisations that are both limited with resources and limited with time,” he says. “Anything that they do, they have to do on a very tight shoe string. But it is worth it and they are getting a lot out of it”

Another four employers are currently being assessed for the Award Programme, he adds, including three who had taken part in SHAW. But Richard adds that these employers are not resting on the laurels of their previous awards.

“One is a college who employ about 375 staff – they had SHAW Bronze and SHAW Silver and they are converting to Healthy Working Lives Silver with the view to going for Gold in September when the new term starts.

“There is a large local manufacturer with 350 staff and again they are going for the Silver conversion again with the view to go for the Healthy Working Lives Gold probably next year or the year after.”

Richard adds that the criteria, which are designed to take a more holistic approach to staff health and well-being cover a much wider agenda and employers are building on the benefits of SHAW.

“With the two larger organisations, they already had quite a few things in place, for example to support staff attendance and to reduce accidents. For your small and medium enterprises, it is about lifting them up.”

Yet even a workplace with only one full-time member of staff can benefit from the Award Programme, adds Richard. “I have got a child’s play area as a new sign-up,” he says. “They have only got one full-time member of staff and four part-time staff but they have really run with it quite well.

“Some of the ideas they have come up with have been really hitting their target audience. They now have a mums and kids walking group that meet every Wednesday.

“The work the owner’s doing, you can see he’s really keen and really enthused and the difference he is making.”