MIMHC

MIMHC looks to get over 200 signatories in 2022




The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) aims to have over 200 signatories by the end of 2022.

The statement was made by the charter’s co-founder, Jason Berry, during a webinar hosted by Simply Biz as part of their Vulnerable Client week.

“We have a real cross section of current signatories which I am delighted to see; these range from small directly authorised brokerages to regional building societies, specialist lenders, mortgage clubs and challenger banks,” said Jason.

“Signatories simply pledge to have a mental health focus within their organisation and commit to keep conversations going, so people affected do not suffer in silence. 

“Getting more than 200 signatories is an absolute must for us during 2022 and signing up could not be easier via our website.”

During the webinar, Jason also spoke about previous survey results conducted by Crystal Specialist Finance last year, which revealed that 73% of respondents said their company did not participate in any mental health or wellbeing initiatives, and that 10% of all sick days taken the previous year were as a direct result of poor mental health.

Martin Reynolds, CEO at Simply Biz Mortgages, added: “Poor mental health affects people at all levels of our society and it is a disease which is not mutually exclusive to a specific industry. 

“For years many, companies in our sector have either ignored or had internal wellbeing practices that were not signposted well enough for staff.

“MIMHC therefore aims to proactively increase mental health awareness to help firms with this change and crucially share best practice tips so open and honest conversations are encouraged. 

“I particularly like the idea of ‘coffee roulette’, where participating staff are randomly matched for 30 minute conversations with colleagues they might not otherwise talk to.”

MIMHC, which was launched in October last year, is a not-for-profit organisation set up by seven businesses from across the mortgage industry, including Brightstar, Chartwell FS, Coreco, Crystal Specialist Finance, Knowledge Bank, Landbay and Simply Biz.

The organisation aims to provide guidance, tips and a framework for firms looking to support the mental health of their teams.

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