Car industry joins Working Minds campaign to support workers struggling this Christmas

The four motor repair trade organisations are the National Body Repair Association (NBRA), the commercial Vehicle Body Repair Association (VBRA), the Independent Garage Association (IGA), and automotive charity, Ben. They are working in partnership with HSE’s campaign to provide information and advice to make sure that employers and workers know what support is available in the run-up to Christmas.

Ben, a charity that supports workers throughout the automotive industry, has reported an increase in people asking for help during the winter months.

According to the charity, 94 per cent of automotive workers also said they had been personally affected by a health and wellbeing issue over past 12 months.

Stress was the most common issue in the 2021 survey, followed by anxiety and poor sleep. The survey found that 1 in 3 (32 per cent) of those surveyed sought out support with their health and wellbeing from a colleague, manager or HR.

More encouragingly, 60 per cent of automotive workers are happy in their jobs. The 2022 survey is now open for those in the automotive sector to share feedback on their health and wellbeing experience in the past year.