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IMD Commitment to EDI and Mental Health

At IMD Translation take the mental health and well-being of our team very seriously. To promote well-being and to ensure our colleagues can get the right sort of help should they need it, we have qualified Mental Health First Aiders in our team. In addition, we have signed up to the Mental Health at Work Commitment, championed by the UK charity, Mind. This is our pledge to be proactive, innovative, and supportive to ensure all colleagues can engage without fear, and without judgement about their mental health.

Our Mental Health & Well-being Committee and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committees are made up of enthusiastic colleagues who either have had first-hand experience of the challenges of EDI, mental ill health, or have the experience in how to support colleagues.  We have a wealth of helpful resources which colleagues can use if and when they wish, and we provide regular talks, workshops, and webinars to promote self-care tips and wellbeing. We have also implemented flexible work and remote working as standard policies to better support our team’s work-life balance.

We want to contribute to reducing the stigma attached to poor mental health, and to reducing any challenges around EDI, and to provide support and information for self-care to our team.

“I am deeply proud to say as a business we have made a positive commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We recognise the importance of treating everyone with respect by recognising the particular challenges faced by different groups. We promote the value of equality, diversity, and inclusion throughout the business and indeed, our colleagues are a diverse and colourful reflection of the clients we are proud to serve.”

— Marcin Durlak, Managing Director

Our Mental Health Commitment

IMD Translation has signed the Mental Health at Work Commitment, demonstrating our ambition to develop a workplace environment and build on their positive culture where all employees can thrive.

By signing the Mental Health at Work Commitment, IMD Translation has committed to achieving better mental health outcomes and a genuine longer-term positive impact on staff’s wellbeing, joining a growing movement of over 1000 organisations including: Avon Cosmetics, B&Q, Barclays Bank, BT, Bupa UK, Deloitte UK, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Historic England, Marks and Spencer, Pets at Home, Santander UK, Save the Children UK and many more, including our sister company IMD Solicitors.

Developed with the knowledge and expertise of mental health charities, leading employers and trade organisations, the Mental Health at Work Commitment provides a simple framework for employers who recognise the importance of promoting staff wellbeing. This framework sets out six clear standards based on what best practice has shown is needed to make a difference and better equip employers to create an environment where employees can thrive.

Daxa Patel, Team Engagement and Development Partner said: “ We value our staff and their mental wellbeing.  The pandemic has magnified a sense of isolation which can lead to anxiety and stress.  Many of our colleagues work from home so we have decided to go the extra mile to ensure their overall wellbeing by making this commitment. We don’t want colleagues to suffer in silence as anxiety is not visible unless,  people feel safe enough to seek help. Our work culture is all about caring for our colleagues and clients, so this is a natural step forward for us.  To compliment this initiative we have set up a Mental Health and wellbeing committee to drive through the sharing of knowledge and support.  We have implemented a Mental health and wellbeing policy which includes a variety of support including training colleagues who wish to act as Mental Health first aiders and Mental Health champions.  We will also run lunchtime workshops which will provide an opportunity to share knowledge and demystify mental health so it is no longer seen as a taboo subject.   This also links in with our broader strategies of the organisation which is to empower all our colleagues to thrive, and to create an atmosphere where they can get the support they need to help them thrive”.

Andrew Berrie, Mental Health at Work National Lead said: “We’re delighted to see IMD sign the Mental Health at Work Commitment. By embedding our six standards in the way they operate, IMD are demonstrating a real commitment to supporting the mental health of those in their workplace.”

“We know it can be hard to talk about mental health and seek support, which is why public commitments such as this one are so important. With issues like stress, anxiety and depression common across all employers, regardless of size or sector, we want to see every employer recognise and address any work related causes of poor mental health among their staff and it’s fantastic to see organisations like IMD taking the lead.” In a survey of UK adults conducted by Business in the Community in partnership with Bupa in 2020, only one in two (51%) of employees say they feel comfortable talking about mental health in the workplace, whilst two in five (39%) report they have experienced a work-related mental health issue in the last year. The cost of poor mental health to UK employers has been estimated to be between £42 billion and £45 billion, according to the Mental Health and Employers Report published in 2020 by Deloitte and investment in workplace support and interventions remains a key issue.

Andrew Berrie further added: “Many leading employers have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only benefits their staff but also their bottom-line, improving productivity and staff retention. With one in six British workers experiencing mental illness it’s time for businesses to make a change and start creating more mentally healthy workplaces.”

Our EDI Commitment

We are a diverse and inclusive business. This is reflected in the make-up of our business as are colleagues are from different cultures and backgrounds. In fact, in our office we speak 16 different languages, and the language services we offer extend to dozens more!

It is in our DNA to help facilitate communication and that is what we are about. We are uniquely positioned as an international firm to understand diversity, equality and inclusion. We have a Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion committee made up of a group of enthusiastic colleagues which actively monitors and builds on our commitment. Our policy is to take active steps to ensure in all that we do we give this a priority. This is embedded in our culture right from recruitment stage to career development. We know there is much more to giving lip-service as respect and regard comes from positive action; we carry out regular staff surveys on diversity, equality and inclusion so that we do not deviate from our commitment, and our work policy on EDI is a live document and is our reference point in all that we do.

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