Press releases

Legal & General announce winners of Not A Red Card mental health awards

Legal & General has announced the winners of its inaugural Not a Red Card Awards celebrating businesses and individuals which have developed and implemented best practices around addressing mental health in the workplace.

7 Nov 2018


The awards held at The Oval in London which were hosted by Gabby Logan, recognised businesses who have demonstrated how they have tackled the issue of mental health in the workplace and have exhibited tangible tactics that can be shared with other organisations looking to address mental health.

The winners of the awards, who were recognised at the Not A Red Card Forum earlier this week, were:

  • Best Mental Health Initiative (Large Company) - Yorkshire Building Society
  • Best Mental Health Initiative (SME) - Rhondda Housing Association (Hapus Initiative)
  • The Collaboration Award – Alex Cotton, founder of It Takes Balls to Talk, with CWPT, Coventry and Warwickshire Mind, Coventry Samaritans, Unite the Union, Public Health Coventry, Public Health Warwickshire
  • Innovative Use of Sport - Marcellus Baz Group (Nottingham School of Boxing and Switch Up)
  • The Inspiration Award - Claire England (Irwin Mitchell LLP)
Sarah Moore, Wellbeing Lead at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement to have won the Best Mental Health Initiative for a large company at the inaugural Not A Red Card Awards. Our colleagues play a vital role in everything we do and this award recognises our commitment in valuing them and creating a supportive, open culture by improving mental health literacy and reducing the stigma of mental health difficulties in the workplace through our holistic wellbeing programme.”
Luke Takeuchi, Chief Executive of Rhondda Housing Association said: “We are delighted to have been announced as the winner of the Best Mental Health Initiative for SMEs award. We know that there are many factors which can impact upon a person’s wellbeing, which is why we have implemented our dynamic health and wellbeing initiative. Being recognised by Legal & General in this way is a real testament to hard work of our wellbeing team who have worked closely with colleagues to provide a comprehensive mental health support package that aims to improve the lives of employees, both in and outside of the workplace.”
Alex Cotton MBE, Mental Health Nurse and Founder of It Takes Balls to Talk, said: “We are incredibly proud to receive the Collaboration Award from Legal & General. This award recognises the dedication of the It Takes Balls to Talk team and all of our partners in raising awareness of mental health and encouraging men to openly discuss how they feel to those who care about them. It is a huge honour to win this award and we want to thank our partners for working alongside us as we look to take the campaign to a wide range of workplaces and help provide employees with the tools and confidence to talk about mental health.”
Marcellus Baz, Managing Director of Switch Up, said: “We are delighted to have won this National award for Innovative Use of Sport in respect of the work we have done with Nottingham School of Boxing. It has been hugely rewarding to work together to provide a structured, safe environment for young, vulnerable people. This award recognises the hard work of the team who use a combination of mentoring, counselling and education to help these young individuals cope with the complex issues they have encountered in their lives.”
Claire England, Paralegal at Irwin Mitchell LLP said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have won the Inspiration Award which recognises my passion and dedication for encouraging open conversations around mental health in the workplace. Founding the Wellbeing Group in our London office has allowed me to actively contribute to the wellbeing of our employees and help embed initiatives to improve the perception of mental health in the workplace, as well as ensure colleagues can access the support they need, when they need it most.”
Nigel Wilson, CEO, Legal & General: "All the winners of the Not A Red Card Awards have demonstrated their commitment to driving change and removing the stigma around mental health in the workplace. With these awards, we aim to celebrate the achievements of organisations but we also hope to encourage other businesses to foster an open and mental health literate environment where their employees can flourish."

Notes to editors

Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.

1Data as at 31 December 2023.