London Luton Airport recently became the first airport in the world to receive certification for its commitment to supporting employee wellbeing at work. Emma Meenan reflects on the process of achieving ISO 45003 certification and how this has benefitted the airport and its people.
We all know stress, fatigue, bullying, harassment, and burnout are examples of psychosocial hazards that can pose serious risk to employee health, safety, and wellbeing in the workplace.
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When managed well, however, they can improve employee engagement, performance, and satisfaction across the organisation.
Failing to address these issues can lead to higher levels of absenteeism, lower productivity, and increased staff turnover.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted just how important positive mental health is in the workplace, with many employees across all sectors facing unprecedented financial stress, emotional strain, and physical health risks.
The pandemic also made clear to employers the importance of strong mental health support, clear and consistent health protocols, and a broader focus on worker safety. The aviation sector was no exception.
How London Luton Airport took action
As one of the UK’s busiest airports, London Luton Airport (LLA) employs about 950 people directly, with thousands more working across its wider operation and supply chain.
The pandemic proved to be a watershed moment for the airport, prompting a detailed review of existing psychological health and wellbeing processes to ensure a more supportive, inclusive and understanding working environment for our people.
Psychological wellbeing has always been a priority at LLA and the health and safety team has long recognised that the effective and consistent management of psychosocial hazards plays a huge role in reducing accidents and incidents.
The pandemic also underlined the hugely important role that line managers have to play in overseeing effective wellbeing management. And that there was an opportunity to introduce a more proactive, risk-based approach to supporting any team member who may experience stress and mental health issues at some point in the working life.
Key considerations to this new approach included ensuring equal wellbeing support for both shift and day workers, as well as putting the appropriate support and resilience in place as recruitment and resourcing requirements grew in line with the airport’s responsible growth.
To get everyone on board, bespoke line manager training was established with a focus on identifying signals of stress, managing wellbeing conversations and the ways to mitigate risks.
The road to certification
We worked closely with the British Standards Institute (BSI) as we worked to achieve ISO 45003 certification. This process involved a thorough review of wellbeing processes, including gap analyses and stress risk assessments, to see where positive new measures could be introduced.
Our occupational health team played a key role in the certification process, working alongside LLA’s HR, safety, and wellbeing teams to create effective programmes and provide confidential assessments and support for colleagues”
Following this, we developed a comprehensive wellbeing management procedure, intervention policy and trauma risk management plan. The ISO 45003 standard was also integrated into our existing health and safety management system.
To help spread the word and ensure widespread uptake of the new procedure across the organisation, we created a wellbeing hub and support groups for colleagues across the airport to discuss issues, as well as a monthly wellbeing newsletter, and an annual awareness plan.
Mandatory management training was also rolled out across all departments to ensure full understanding and alignment of our wellbeing approach and priorities.
The ISO 45003 audit was completed in two stages, the first online and the second in person, involving multiple departments.
The results
Since achieving certification, LLA has achieved impressive improvements in employee wellbeing. In 2024, the airport reported:
- A 7% increase in overall wellbeing, despite a 22% increase in staff and the challenges of recovering from a major fire in one of the airport car parks.
- Mental health absenteeism showed a 50% reduction in average days lost, even with a 15% increase in the number of mental health-related absence spells. This suggests that despite a slight increase in mental health-related absence spells, employees are getting the support they need and returning to work more quickly.
Additionally, communication, awareness, and engagement around wellbeing have greatly improved.
More employees are now comfortable reporting mental health issues, and there’s a greater understanding of the importance of taking breaks before burnout hits. Enhanced support, both proactive and reactive, has also helped employees feel more confident about returning to work sooner.
How occupational health contributed
Our occupational health team played a key role in the certification process, working alongside LLA’s HR, safety, and wellbeing teams to create effective programmes and provide confidential assessments and support for colleagues who may be experiencing stress and mental health challenges.
In addition, specialised sessions with a neurolinguistic practitioner were offered and valuable data to help shape LLA’s psychological health and safety strategies was provided.
Ultimately, the BSI’s Psychological Health and Safety Management scheme, based on ISO 45003, sets the global standard for managing mental health at work. The certification process was a thorough and independent assessment to ensure LLA met the required standard.
Achieving ISO 45003 certification was a huge milestone for the airport. It shows how much LLA values the psychological health and safety of its employees, and has helped to raise the profile of mental health across the airport.
This increased awareness has created an even more open and supportive environment where everyone feels safe and valued.
We’re incredibly proud to be the first airport to achieve this certification, setting a new global standard for the aviation industry and leading the way in workplace wellbeing.
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