Person of trust
As an employer, you are responsible for your employees’ mental well-being. Raising sensitive issues with a manager or HR isn’t always easy, though. Your employees can talk to a person of trust freely and discreetly. They will first listen, and then help to find a solution through mediation or referral.
The person of trust is the first point of contact for employees who are struggling mentally. There are various possible reasons for this, such as: stress or burnout, bullying, aggression, a difficult situation at home, sexual harassment, trauma or discrimination.
A person of trust will counsel and support the employee, and can also mediate at the employee’s request.
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Why appoint a person of trust?
For employees, it is often less daunting to approach a person of trust than a manager. Problems can be aired sooner, don’t escalate and are also resolved more quickly. Often, a good conversation is all that struggling employees need to find a solution themselves.
The person of trust knows what’s going on in the workplace. When the same issues keep coming up, this may indicate a deeper problem. If so, the person of trust will talk to the risk prevention advisor, who will then propose measures to the employer.
Do I have to appoint a person of trust?
Since 1 December 2023, appointing an internal person of trust has been mandatory for organisations with more than 50 employees. But even in smaller organisations, the role is worth its weight in gold for ensuring mental well-being in the workplace.
How do you choose a good person of trust?
The best persons of trust are employees:
whom colleagues already turn to of their own accord;
with a sense of responsibility and empathy;
who are regularly present on the work floor and easy to approach.
Tip: advertise an internal vacancy for the role of person of trust. You will instantly make this position better known within your organisation.
How do you enable the person of trust to perform their role well?
Have them attend a training course: intensive training (and regular refresher courses) are an excellent preparation for this role.
Give them a mandate: make room for this in the job description and provide a space where confidential conversations can take place.
Make sure that people know about the person of trust: share the contact details on the intranet or posters, and introduce them at large meetings.
How can Mensura help your person of trust?
- Our health and safety advisors will for the role of person of trust for suitability.
Your persons of trust can contact our health and safety advisors if they need an outside opinion.
We can train your persons of trust: Mensura offers high-quality courses for persons of trust.
Tips from our experts