Awards and Accreditations

On 7 December 2023 – and after a rigorous review process – we were officially granted Member status of Greater Manchester’s Good Employment Charter.

What this means is that when you’re part of our team, you get to enjoy a workplace that meets the GEC’s seven outstanding employment practices as laid out in the Charter. These include a workplace that is inclusive, fairly compensated, secure, flexible, and promotes health and wellbeing.

At Gaddum we have put much effort into creating a positive and adaptable work environment, and are proactive with measures such as cost-of-living payments, carers’ leave, and compassionate leave.

Our values-driven support and management, and unwavering commitment to staff mental health and wellbeing make us a proud Member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.

As our Interim CEO, Ben Whalley, eloquently says… “When The Good Employment Charter was first discussed, for me there was no question that we had to be a member. Providing the best employment standards for local people in Greater Manchester? Yes, we absolutely want to be part of that.”

Curious to learn more about what this Charter means for you?

Watch this 2 minute video to find out more.

Congratulations Lily Huggins, our Assistant Head of Operational Development for Advocacy, who won the Equalities Champion Award at the Greater Manchester Health and Care Champion Awards which took place on 13th July 2023. 

These are the only Greater Manchester-wide awards which recognise the amazing contributions from our whole health and care workforce.

A record number of nominations were submitted this year – just over 530 in total. Nominations were submitted for 13 different categories, including Leadership, Innovation and Volunteer Champion.

The Equalities Champion Award is for an individual or team who is committed to breaking down barriers and challenging inequalities.

Congratulations Lily! Find out more about Culturally Appropriate Advocacy.

In February 2023 we were awarded a strong Silver accreditation from Investors in People (IiP). The award is a huge achievement after the tough time we’ve all seen with Covid, and is a great step up from our Bronze Award in 2019.

There are nine different elements that Gaddum needed to meet to achieve the award. These focus on key areas including personal and professional growth, recruitment policies, development opportunities and, particularly important during turbulent times, staff wellbeing.

See some quotes from our team below:

“I love working here, I feel I have a voice and people, including senior leaders, are prepared to listen”.

“If I need to change anything, I’m empowered to get on with it”.

“I enjoy the opportunity to try new things and managers are open to you doing this and putting ideas forward, it makes you feel innovative.”

Read more about the Investors in People accreditation.

Find out more about Investors in People

Details of our latest job vacancies

We’re pleased to say we’ve been an accredited Living Wage employer since 2015. Our aim is to look after our employees in many ways, with salary being one of them. We purposely provide our staff with a real Living Wage – one that is calculated based on the cost of household goods and services. It’s important that we’re one of the 12,000 organisations across the UK that voluntarily do this.

“Paying the Living Wage has always been about doing the right thing; even when times are tough. Being an accredited Living Wage employer is a reflection of our genuine care and concern for our employees,” expresses Lynne Stafford, Chief Executive at Gaddum.

Living Wage

As a Supporter of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, we wholeheartedly embrace its mission to promote excellence in employment.

At Gaddum, we believe in championing outstanding employment practices aligned with the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, which focuses on seven essential areas of development. We strive to create an environment where quality work is inclusive, fairly compensated, secure, flexible, and promotes health and wellbeing.

We provide our staff with a positive and adaptable work environment, complemented by measures such as cost-of-living payments, carers’ leave, and compassionate leave.

Our values-driven support and management, and unwavering commitment to staff mental health and wellbeing make us proud supporters of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.

Curious to learn more about what this Charter means for you? 

Watch this 2 minute video to find out more.

As a charity, we signed up to the Disability Confident scheme to do our part in reducing inequalities in the workplace and in changing overall attitudes around disability for the better.

As a certified Disability Confident Committed Employer, we commit to:

• Providing excellent support to our employees with disabilities or long-term health conditions, enabling them to thrive in their roles and stay in work.
• Ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that welcomes all applicants.
• Offering interviews to any applicant who identifies as having a disability and meets the essential criteria for a position. 
• Proactively making reasonable adjustments as needed, to accommodate the needs of individuals. 
• Being flexible when assessing people so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to showcase their abilities. 

Read more about the Disability Confident Scheme. 

We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and achieving net zero by 2040, if not before. To fulfil this commitment, and make a positive impact on the environment, we have outlined specific actions in our comprehensive carbon reduction plan for the next five years. 

In 2019, the average carbon emissions for a medium-sized charity amounted to 187.3 tonnes. At Gaddum, we have made significant progress, with our total carbon emissions for 2022-2023 measuring at 48.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

Our Senior Leadership Team fully endorses this commitment and, to drive engagement and innovation, we have established the Gaddum Green Group. Open to all staff members, this dedicated group actively shapes our carbon reduction plan, shares ideas, and implements sustainable practices across the organisation. 

As part of our carbon reduction plan, we diligently report our emissions annually, adhering to Greenhouse Gas protocol compliant standards. To ensure accurate reporting, we collaborate with local specialists, Positive Planet. 

For more detailed information about our plans and progress, please visit our dedicated page on the Positive Planet dashboard. 

Gaddum has signed up to the Mental Health at Work initiative. In the last year, 41% of employees in the UK experienced poor mental health where work was a contributing factor. Gaddum is determined to be an employer that puts this issue front and centre. 

The Mental Health at Work commitment outlines six mental health standards proven to improve people’s mental health at work. Gaddum is already delivering against many of these, but as always, we’re keen to be providing the very best standards, which is why we’re committed to working with Mental Health at Work to get leading-edge advice and support.  

Some of our practices include; Mental Health first aiders, a Winter wellbeing day and an extra day off for birthday, paid volunteering time, emergency leave policies, hybrid working, free counselling, and more.  

Read more about the Mental Health at Work Commitment. 

In November 2022, Gaddum Advocacy was successfully awarded the Quality Performance Mark (QPM) for another 3 years from the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi).  

The Quality Performance Mark confirms that Gaddum is providing the gold standard of support in our health and social care advocacy across Manchester.  

To gain the Quality Mark, the team went through a rigorous assessment, a review of all policies and procedures, and a site visit from assessors, who remarked: 

“Gaddum has a strong approach to equity and diversity, and this was very much evidenced through partnership working with a range of organisations, including around culturally appropriate advocacy.” 

Read more about what it means to hold the Advocacy Quality Mark. 

In May 2022, Gaddum was shortlisted in several categories in the National Advocacy Awards.

The National Advocacy Awards celebrate the difference the advocacy community makes and shouts about outstanding practice, people, and organisations. These awards recognise excellence within advocacy and congratulate exceptional contributions to the field of advocacy across the UK.

Gaddum Advocacy was shortlisted 4 times across 3 categories for the National Advocacy Awards:

Outstanding Advocate – Francesca Galley

Outstanding Advocate – Paul Molloy

Outstanding Service – Gaddum Advocacy

Outstanding Contribution to Equality and Diversity – Culturally Appropriate Advocacy Pilot 

We would like to extend our congratulations to the entire of Gaddum Advocacy for demonstrating outstanding practice on a national level and this could not have happened without the dedication of our wonderful Advocates.

Congratulations also to our colleagues Francesca and Paul for being 2 of the 4 Advocates to be shortlisted nationally for the ‘Outstanding Advocate’ category. Thank you for your commitment, expertise, and hard work.

We continue to work hard on our Culturally Appropriate Advocacy Pilot and would like to extend our thanks and congratulations to our fantastic partners African and Caribbean Mental Health Services.

The National Advocacy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday 12 May 2022 in Birmingham and a delegation from Gaddum and ACMHS were in in attendance.

Gaddum has registered with the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly. 

This means that we value military personnel and families, reservists, cadet organisations and veterans when recruiting new staff for employment; as well as during their contracted employment at Gaddum.  

By becoming a forces friendly employer, we benefit from the wide range of unique skills and experiences that reservists and veterans can bring to us and helps diversify the talent in our workforce. 

Read more about the Armed Forces Covenant