London: Towards a truly Smokefree Capital City

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London Towards a truly Smokefree Capital City

• 19 March 2007

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Royal Mail Group National Policy with Regional
and local implications

• Dr Su Wang
• Group Head of Health
• 19 March 2007

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Good news!

• Bolton Mail Centre has won Gold Award, National
  Clean Air Award.
• Internal smoking cessation clinics resulting in
  98 quit success rate
• Local decision to ban smoking in entire site

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Royal Mail The Business

• Largest single employer in the UK
  c190,000 employees
• Deliver to 27 million
  addresses - 83 million items a day
• 30,000 vehicles
  travelling 1.5million miles a day
• 113,000 collection points
• 82 million items of mail moved a night
• 14,500
  retail outlets
• 
  Although a large organisation we are able to
  provide bespoke services to customers.

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A Brief history

• 300 years
• British postal communications helped to shape the
  modern world
• Occupational Health 150 yrs (NHS 60 yrs)
• Internally 2 specialist occupational physicians
• Externally contract with OH supplier

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Greatest turnaround in corporate history

• Business recovery
• Quality
• Sickness Absence
• Work Time Listening
• HELP

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Smoking Policy Listening to our People

• Consulted widely
• Business, People, TU.
• Governance Committee
• Board of Royal Mail Group

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Special issues

• Security
• Custom and practice
• Geography
• 190,000 employees

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Awareness Support

• Work Time Listening Talkabout
• Courier and internal publications
• Smoking cessation clinics
• Helplines

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The bottom line

• Health case
• Business case
• The Individual

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Public Health Case

• Main avoidable cause of premature death in UK
• Excess of 100,000 deaths
• (cf 150 deaths from Bird Flu worldwide)
• Illness Respiratory illness, lung cancer,
  Ischaemic heart disease, Children small
  birth size, cot death, middle ear disease,
  middle ear disease, asthma

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Business case

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Productivity
• Sickness Absence
• Longevity, Health and Well Being
• Engagement Inclusion
• Feeling First Class
• Cost of smoking breaks

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Benefits to Business
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Business impact

• Smokers have more sickness absence, and longer
  sickness absence when they fall ill ( 2 weeks)
• Lighting up time conservatively 3 times a day,
  10 minutes a time equates to 0.5hr x 5 days x
  circa 40 weeks equates to 12.5 extra work days
  leave.
• i.e. a smoker effectively has an extra 2.5 weeks
  extra annual leave or an extra 2.5 weeks
  equivalent of sick leave

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Business impact (cont)

• Conservative assessment 2 weeks plus 2.5 weeks
  additional absence per smoker i.e. 4.5 x 7 x
  85 1912.5 per smoker.
• Multiplied by 25 of workforce who smoke equates
  to circa 200,000x 25 x 1912.5 95,625,000
  (rounded up to 100K)
• If we could save 100K to our bottom line would we?

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Individual Health Benefits

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Individuals Financial Benefits after
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Aims of our Smoking Policy

• Comply with new UK wide legal requirements
• Provide a healthy and safe working environment
  for employees, customers and contractors
• Protect people from second hand smoke
• Make it easier for smokers to quit
• Discourage smoking as vigorously as possible
• Support Health and Well Being

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So what are we implementing?

• Total ban in buildings and vehicles plus loading
  bays, docks, sports and social facilities, and
  where public have access
• Vehicles all liveried (Red) fleet, hired
  vehicles
• Every effort to make all premises smoke-free
• No new shelters to be erected
• Security Local Designation after consultation
  and risk assessment

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Principles

• Legal compliance, plus
• Pace our people
• Review
• Take our people towards total ban

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In summary

• CSR doing whats right
• Engagement
• Promoting Health and Well Being
• Helping our people avoid the principal avoidable
  cause of premature death and ill health

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Any questions?

• Thank you
• su.wang_at_royalmail.com

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Health Bus
Feeling First Class
Feeling First Class
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