Some of the biggest operators in the drinks trade will be vying for coveted awards next week when we reveal our Corporate Contribution champions. The winners will be announced as part of the Annual Volunteer Awards Dinner after our AGM on Tuesday 8th October, after discussions amongst a panel of independent judges.

The Corporate Contribution category is split into two awards to recognise the impact both smaller and larger companies are having, by partnering with the Licensed Trade Charity to ensure employees know about the help available to them. That support includes financial grants, a dedicated 24/7 helpline and free counselling sessions.

The nominees for the 250 Pubs & Over Corporate Contribution Award will be revealed this week here:

  • Shepherd Neame – Hosted our mental health training on site with head office staff attending. They invited us to present at Head Chef Forum meetings to raise awareness of the charity amongst their chefs, and will be distributing marketing material to pensioners to ensure former employees know that they are eligible for our support too.
  • Mitchells & Butlers – Mitchells & Butlers dispensed with their Employee Assistance Programme to fully commit to promoting our free services in that area. They have hosted two mental health training workshops for us and have already committed to more, and have run a wellbeing day at head office that included promoting the charity and its benefits to employees.
  • Marston’s PLC: All 1,505 pubs received pub packs from us detailing the help and available, with online messaging to accompany the launch to ensure awareness was raised. Hosted their first mental health training day for us in September, with around 50 members of staff attending the regular workshops.
  • Stonegate Pub Company: Stonegate hadn’t offered an Employee Assistance Programme in the past, but through us, now provide one to all staff. The Stonegate board has taken part in a mental health awareness course, and on Thursday 3rd October its HR department is completing the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for, and awareness of, our charity.
  • JD Wetherspoon: Information about our services are part of induction training for new starters and those entering management training. Over 50 employees have received our mental health training, and CEO John Hutson sent out a personal message to all employees promoting the charity and linking the message into our introductory film.
  • Fuller’s: For mental health awareness week in May, they asked their pubs to ‘stop the clock’ for 15 minutes to show their teams what we do and talk about our mental health provision. Fuller’s internal comms app Fuse has a dedicated mental health page so staff can easily access details about us and how they can access help and support.
  • Ei Group: Are so committed to the Licensed Trade Charity’s service that they are using it as their employee assistance provider. 19 general managers and senior staff have attended our mental health training courses, and they have also hosted several of the events. They have also invited us to be at the Ei Live trade shows to further spread awareness.

The nominees for the Under 250 Pubs Corporate Contribution Award are:

  • Young’s – Have been helping us tackle loneliness by promoting our befriending service amongst its pensioners. It held a corporate mental health day in April which we were invited to speak at, and has recommended past and present employees to contact us regarding grants. The William Young Trust has also made donations to support our work for the last two years.
  • McMullen & Sons – McMullen distributed our informative pub packs to tenants, head office staff and their pensioners, along with our introductory video which was posted as a news item on their internal comms platform. Several head office staff are now ambassadors for us and the mental health training was such a hit McMullen are planning to train all their managers on similar lines.
  • Livelyhood: All general managers, assistant managers and executive directors attended a presentation about how we can help, and that messaging forms one of the first parts of the new staff induction process. HR letter templates include paragraphs on contacting the charity for guidance and managers are often reminded that our help is part of their management toolkit.
  • Lancaster Brewery: Invited us to be at open days to present to staff, and ensure charity literature is sent out with invoices, and through a local beer festival which 3,000 people attend. Digitally, they raise awareness of us through social media and emails.
  • Castle Rock Brewery: Our services have been promoted to all managed and tenanted sites as well as the brewery and head office. Their training centre has been provided as a venue for the mental health training we provide, and they put us in touch with Nottingham pub watch which resulted in us being able to present to over 100 people at a pub watch conference.
  • WH Brakspear and Sons: Have distributed our pub packs to all pubs, and include information on our services as part of team member inductions. Key staff have attended mental health training workshops, and Head of People Sue Williams generously gives her time to be a regional volunteer visitor for us.
Stonegate won the Corporate Contribution Award last year due their fantastic ongoing support to our charity.

In the build up to the awards ceremony you can follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for daily updates on why each operator has been shortlisted.

The awards dinner recognises the people at the heart of the Licensed Trade Charity who help us to flourish, with categories such as Inspirational Regional Fundraisers, Outstanding Charity Services Volunteer and a Lifetime Achievement Award. These will be announced alongside the Corporate Contribution Award, which recognises the efforts of the increasing number of operators’ who are working with the charity to promote our wide range of services for licensed trade people. Last year’s winning operator was Stonegate Pub Company, with Mitchells & Butlers taking the title in 2017.