| Improving Working Lives |
So What is Improving Working Lives?
Improving Working Lives is central to the NHS Plan and Human Resources in the NHS Plan and fits perfectly with the ultimate goal of the NHS to become a model employer.
IWL is a key indicator of the Trust's performance monitoring arrangements for the award of the annual star ratings. The IWL indicators or targets as they are commonly known will be achieved when certain stages of the IWL initiative are achieved. Each NHS organisation is required to move through a series of accredited stages towards set targets. These stages are:
- Pledge Status
- Practice Status
- Practice Plus Status
- Model Employer
The IWL Standard was developed to enable NHS organisations to become better employers by working towards set standards of achievement, which are assessed by NHS trained assessors with the use of a standardised audit instrument.
The six strap lines of the IWL Standard are that NHS organisations should:
- Recognise that modern health services require modern employment practices
- Understand that staff work best for patients when they can strike a healthy balance between work and other aspects of their life outside of work
- Accept a joint responsibility with staff to develop a range of working arrangements that balance the needs of patients and services
- Value and support staff according to the contribution they make to patient care and meeting the needs of the service
- Provide personal and professional development and training opportunities that are accessible and open to all staff irrespective of their working patterns
- Have a wide range of policies and practices that enable staff to manage a healthy balance between work and their commitments outside of work