Staff welfare
These welfare services are available to Isle of Man Government employees only.
For all of us there are times when we may need help or support with a problem, either at work or in our personal lives. Sometimes this can be found by talking to a friend, relative, colleague or line-manager.
Occasionally it can help to talk to someone who is independent and removed from the situation.
Our services
The Staff Welfare Service offers professionally trained staff who can provide support and information on a wide range of issues. The Staff Welfare Officers will listen non-judgementally to the issues and discuss any options that are available to you.
Isle of Man Government staff can access this service which is available for full-time, part-time, bank and seasonal staff. Staff of all levels and grades can access this service.
Staff Welfare can offer information, help, support and counselling on a wide range of issues such as:
- Work related problems – difficulties with colleagues, performance, discipline, bullying and harassment
- Personal problems – difficulties with relationships, divorce or separation
- Home responsibilities – caring for dependents
- Ill health or disability
- Returning to work after prolonged absence
- Critical incident or trauma support through or after traumatic situations at work or in your personal life
- Stress
- Bereavement and loss
- Substance misuse
- Financial issues
- Mediation – recognised as a growing area of support within the Isle of Man Government – we have trained and experienced mediators who offer this service
Confidentiality
We at Staff Welfare pride ourselves on our discretion – the conversations we have with our clients are confidential. The only exception to this would be if a crime has been committed or we consider someone's life to be threatened. In situations such as these we would discuss with you what we felt necessary to take forward and who we would be contacting.
When we are with clients or at appointments out of the office – such as home visits which are offered to those who are ill – a voice mail message can be left in confidence. Any messages left on the answer machine are only accessed by the Staff Welfare Officers and we try to get back to you within 24 working hours.
It may be that we need to talk to someone else about information you require, but your permission to do this will be obtained first. In the case of any discussions you feel it would be appropriate for us to have with your GP we would ask for your written consent prior to us contacting him/her.
Data protection
No contact details or records are kept electronically. However we do keep hand written contact information and notes to remind us of key points or if we have promised to do something for you. You are welcome to ask to see them at any time but no one else can have access to these.
- contact information and notes are kept in a locked cabinet to which only Staff Welfare Officers have keys
- notes will be destroyed once contact ends
- contact details are destroyed after 1 year
Code of Ethics
We are members of the Institute of Welfare and work within the Institute of Welfare Officers Code of Ethics. Staff Welfare offers a service which is based on trust and discretion and operates under a strict code of confidentiality within the requirements of the law.
First appointment
The first appointment will be an assessment session and this will be made as soon as possible.
At the assessment the options for help and support will be discussed. Sometimes these discussions will include the options of support from other helping agencies if this is considered appropriate. If you decide to take up such an option, the Staff Welfare Service accepts no responsibility for payment of any fees that may be incurred.
If agreed, further appointments will be made at the assessment session, usually within three weeks of the assessment:
- appointments normally last between 45 minutes and 1 hour
Resources
We have a small library of helpful literature that we lend out to the people we see.
Please feel free to ask us about this or to refer you to other sources of information that may be useful.
Feedback and evaluation
An evaluation form will be sent to you after your work with the Staff Welfare Service is complete.
We ask you to take the time to fill this out and return it to us as it is a valuable method of monitoring the service we provide.
These are anonymous but you may wish to add either your or your Staff Welfare Officers name if you wish to raise anything specific and would like a response to your comments.