Dairy Crest has won the prestigious ‘Treating People Fairly’ award, part of the annual ‘Waitrose Way Awards’, open to all companies who supply Waitrose.

The accolade recognises the work Dairy Crest is doing to improve the health and well-being of its staff through a range of special health services including free cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure checks.

One of the independent judges Neil Everett Senior Partner at Carnstone Partners LLP said:

“I was impressed by the level of investment that Dairy Crest has made. Their approach to well-being is holistic, covering not only diagnosis and treatment of existing conditions but also encouraging staff to lead healthier lives.”

Mark Allen, Dairy Crest’s Chief Executive said:

"The Treating People Fairly award recognises the effort and hard work put in throughout Dairy Crest to further improve our levels of staff well-being."

“This is not just a box ticking exercise for us - I want a healthy, engaged and therefore dynamic workforce and the priority for me and my senior team is to make sure every staff member goes home well at the end of the working day."

Farm Health & Safety Programme

In June the company announced it is extending the programme to improve health and safety for its farmers. The Farm Health & Safety Programme was launched at the Royal Cornwall Show with support from the Farming Minister, George Eustice MP. Farmers were encouraged to visit the stand and have a free health check.

Speaking about the programme, Mr Eustice said:

“I took one of the health assessments at the Royal Cornwall Show and I think this campaign to encourage farmers to think about their health and also the safety of their holdings is really welcome.”

Mr Allen said:

“We are constantly looking to improve and hone our offer to farmers and I am really proud that having experienced such resounding success with our staff, Dairy Crest will now be the first dairy processor to start rolling out a well-being programme for our supplying farmers - a real first for the industry."

“It is therefore fantastic to have this external recognition from Waitrose which proves we are doing the right thing for our staff and can continue to build on this in the future."