The Education and Training Boards Ireland Health and Safety committee is established to support and maintain the physical and mental health and safety of all staff in ETBI by developing an infrastructure for integrated quality, safety, and risk management.

The Health and Safety Committee

• raises awareness of issues around health and safety at work from home and in ETBI offices. 
• provides an opportunity for discussion and decision-making on issues affecting staff health and safety.
• continues to observe the changes in health and safety legislation and assists in the implementation of agreed protocols.
• is responsible for the promotion of activities on safety and health at work and wellbeing programmes.
• reviews ETBIs Safety Statement in line with health and safety requirements.

The Keep In Touch Initiative was implemented during Covid 19 restrictions as a means of maintaining contact with employees and monitoring health and wellbeing. It includes continued and scheduled teams calls monitoring the health and wellbeing of staff. Conversations include reminders to move around, issues arising from working remotely and also sharing ideas on maintaining positive wellbeing.

Human Resources and the General Secretary are lead staff members in scheduling these interactions which are carried out with all staff members every 4 to 6 weeks.

The Education and Training Boards Ireland wellbeing committee is established to support and maintain the physical and mental health of all staff in ETBI.

The Wellbeing Committee:

• raises awareness of issues around wellbeing at work and will seek input from staff. 
• provides various plans and developments that allow staff to maintain and develop health and wellbeing at work and beyond.
• oversees the development and implementation of employee wellness policies and programs and provides ongoing assessment/monitoring of the effectiveness of workplace wellness programs or initiatives.
• provides an opportunity for discussion and decision-making on issues affecting staff physical and mental health at work.

Wellbeing Initiatives

• Work Positive Survey and Action Plan
• Workplace Wellbeing Day
• Men’s Mental Health Week
• Virtual Coffee Break Talks
• International Day of Happiness

ETBI has trained two staff members to complete Workspace Assessments to ensure our staff’s remote working environment is safe, secure, and comfortable. All staff are provided with equipment such as chairs, monitors, laptop risers, footrests, etc to ensure there is no risk of strain or repetitive injury while working remotely. This assessment is carried out as part of the induction process within the first two weeks of starting employment.

Our virtual coffee breaks take place twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday and allow us to take a 15-minute escape from work and enjoy time with colleagues. Now that we have embarked on the hybrid working model, some staff will be returning to the office, others will be continuing to work from home or enjoying the flexibility of  a mixture of both, we need to make a deliberate effort to connect.  It is important that we stay connected and the virtual coffee breaks help us keep in touch, and make us feel part of the team and supported. 

Some of the activities include a book club, virtual talks, presentations to name but a few and we are lucky to have an enthusiastic and proactive team willing to share their skills, knowledge and strengths to keep staff engaged and connected during this time.