BAM UK & Ireland has been named the winner of this year's Workplace Wellbeing Initiative Award at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Southern Annual Lunch & Awards ceremony in London.

The award recognises the company's Suicide Awareness & Prevention project, which aims to tackle this sensitive subject and help prevent such incidences happening. It is a crucial issue in construction, where suicide rates are three times higher than the national average.

It was in 2022 that BAM added bespoke suicide awareness and prevention skills training to its health and wellbeing training portfolio. The company introduced one day and half day training courses, which encouraged a cultural change in the workforce that it is OK not to be OK.


BAM has created an extensive network of wellbeing champions, who are trained in Mental Health First Aid, and has invested in dedicated spaces for those in need of support, whether for themselves, a relative or friend.

Ruth Pott, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at BAM, led the Suicide Awareness initiative, and said: "People naturally shy away from discussions relating to suicide and mental health, but I am passionate about normalising such conversations and equipping our employees to have the conversation with anyone they are concerned about.

"We tackle very sensitive subjects such as suicide head on and know that we have saved many lives in doing so. We don't put a business benefit or ROI on this, as it is fundamentally the right thing to do."