Leading Hull holiday home manufacturer Willerby has signed the ‘Time to Change’ pledge.
The pledge is a nationwide campaign, supported by Hull City Council and leading mental health charity Mind, and has been created to urge people to ‘Ask Twice’ if someone close to them is acting differently.
Many people are still uncomfortable opening-up about mental health issues and will often avoid discussing how they feel when asked.
To tackle this, Time to Change supporters, including Willerby, are encouraging its staff to ‘Ask Twice’ if they suspect a friend, family member or colleague might be struggling with their mental health.
Sue Allan, group finance director at Willerby, said: “We know from statistics that many of us may be affected by mental health issues at some point in our lives, either personally or through our colleagues, friends and loved ones.
“Therefore, it is important for us to create a workplace where our employees feel supported and comfortable enough to talk about how they feel.
“We want to ensure that no one suffers in silence.”
To support the pledge, Willerby has proudly launched a new mental health support framework, developed by the Human Resource and Health and Safety teams with the help of advice from Mind.
Training and advice will be given in all company inductions, to help employees spot the signs of mental health difficulties early on.
Other local businesses who have signed the pledge include Siemens Gamesa, Hull College and Aunt Bessie's.
Willerby is one of Hull's biggest employers.
The holiday home manufacturer, which has two showrooms in Hull and in Scotland, employs around 1,000 people in the city.
In the summer, Willerby announced sales in 2018 had passed the £170m mark last year, as profits before tax also rose from £12.2m to £14.3m.
Willerby also recently re-launched its iconic Vogue model, to celebrate the company’s 70-plus year history.
The first Vogue was manufactured in Hull in 1956.
Over 60 years later, Willerby has released its new version of one of its best-selling models, called ‘Vogue Classique.’
Kirsten Bolton, marketing director at Willerby, said: “The Vogue model has played a pivotal part in our history over the past 63 years, and holds a special place in the heart of the Willerby team.
