Valuing the on-call firefighters in times of crisis

At Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, our people are our service, and those people have shown a dedication to the community like no other. This is the story of our on-call colleagues, how Covid-19 affected their role and how it has shaped their future.

Engagement: Keeping Healthy, Keeping Happy

The wellbeing of all our colleagues is our ultimate priority. We knew our on-call firefighters would have personal issues to contend with and acknowledged we were not their ultimate priority, so our main message was always: you and your family’s health and wellbeing come first.

Immediately our Occupational Health Team worked with our HR Team to produce a wellbeing leaflet. This simple guide signposted people to useful resources, ranging from mental health to financial support. A hard copy was sent out to all sites and a digital copy was sent to all staff.

Because of the nature of their roles, our on-call colleagues have historically been our hardest to reach employee group, so we needed to find ways of informing them with the latest guidance and Service information, which was changing rapidly.

Read the full article on our digital issue, pages 22-23.

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