Public Health Spaces: Why Disciplinary Processes are a Public Health Issue

Earlier this year, the Faculty of Public Health published a discussion paper titled, Reducing harm from the poor application of disciplinary processes: a public health issue. 

Faculty President, Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, said: “For too long we have prioritised procedure over people. We urgently need a national conversation about how investigations are conducted across the UK and how we can together to make sure processes are fairer, safer and more compassionate.”

Please join us for this Public Health Spaces event featuring guest speaker Andrew Cooper, independent workforce wellbeing advocate and co-author of the Faculty's paper, alongside FPH President Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz, as they cover:

• Why this matters now: population-level harm, workforce sustainability, cross sector relevance.
• Emerging evidence exploring the impact on individuals and organisations.
• Finding a new way: considering what organisations are doing to improve processes to ensure employee wellbeing, as well as procedural compliance.
• The role for public health professionals in this area of workforce health and wellbeing

Acas has estimated that 1.7 million formal disciplinary processes take place in the UK each year, with the annual cost for disciplinary and grievance procedures being £2.36 billion.

This is an opportunity for public health professionals to integrate workforce wellbeing – including organisational policies and processes – into the wider public health agenda. 

It’s a time to advocate for reform, contribute to the evidence-base and work with employers to ensure that the heath of the workforce is a recognised as a determinant of population health.

Andrew Cooper is Head of Programmes for Employee Wellbeing in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in NHS Wales and Development Director for the Healthcare People Management Association’s (HPMA) ‘Avoiding Harm’ programme in the UK. 

He holds an honorary research role with the University of Plymouth and is leading a programme of research exploring the impact of the disciplinary process on individuals and organisations. He is also lead editor on ‘Under Investigation: Transforming Disciplinary Practice in the Workplace’, published by Bristol University Press.

With a background in healthcare improvement and innovation, he has held senior communications roles across the private, public and voluntary sectors and is Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Public Relations for his contribution to healthcare communications.