A Trauma-Informed Employer (TIE) quality mark from The Survivors Trust shows that your company understands the impact of trauma and supports those who disclose harassment, abuse or bullying.  This allows you to demonstrate to your staff, clients and customers that you are able to respond sensitively and professionally to sexual harassment, sexual abuse and bullying. 

Why is it important for an employer to be trauma-informed? 

Despite being illegal, sexual abuse, harassment and bullying often go unchallenged in the workplace, creating a toxic culture and risking further traumatisation for the victim. Many employees, including managers, don’t feel confident responding to disclosures or complaints, and are not comfortable in challenging incidents of sexual harassment or abuse. 

Our Trauma-Informed Employer award focuses on three key areas: responding to complaints, creating a safe working environment and avoiding re-traumatisation to help better equip workplace settings to managed these issues.

A trauma-informed employer is one which recognises the impact of trauma at both individual and organisational level, and which provides a healthy, safe and respectful environment for its staff and clients.

Sexual abuse, harassment and bullying can have a significant and long-term impact on those who experience it. The resulting trauma can affect all areas of the victim’s life, including their work, so our assessment and award process is designed to help employers understand the impact trauma can have in the workplace. This will not only help ensure employees have a safe and supportive environment to work, but it can also benefit the business too.

Benefits of being a Trauma-Informed Employer include:

1. Reputation - shows that you are a caring, reputable organisation which invests in actively tackling a social problem that affects many people.

2. Staff retention and morale - creates a safe, supportive and respectful environment will promote loyalty, commitment and retention.

3. Legal - employers have a duty of care to protect the wellbeing of employees and your TIE Quality Mark shows you have a meaningful safeguarding policy and other duties of care.

4. Financial - every incident of sexual harassment, sexual abuse or bullying is estimated to cost the employer in the region of £30,000,  your combination of effective TIE policies and sensitive training will allow the business to respond to incidents more efficiently.

5. Developmental - demonstrates to buyers from the public and private sector that your business has in-depth, real-world practices to respond to the needs of people who have been affected by sexual trauma, bulling and harassment. 

How can your business achieve a Trauma-Informed Quality Mark?

The Survivors Trust Trauma-Informed Employer award process will help you to introduce and embed a trauma-informed ethos through training, support, strategies and resources. We will work with you to understand your organisation’s current position and to develop a realistic plan to help you reach your required TIE quality mark.

You will receive ongoing support and feedback from us throughout the process as we help you establish clear and robust strategies for dealing with any allegations of sexual abuse, harassment or bullying, and responding sensitively to disclosures. 

You will also receive support from our Regional Champions. These are all long-established specialist sexual and domestic violence organisations, with qualified and experienced staff who can support you to gain real value from trauma-informed working. 

Level of Award & Costs

The TIE Quality Award can be awarded at three levels, Bronze, Silver or Gold, depending on your organisation's requirements.  The cost of achieving your TIE Quality Mark is dependent on the complexity and size of the organisation and the level of achievement you wish to attain for your organisation.

TIE QUALITY MARK	What is involved?
	We will work with you to review and update your safeguarding protocols, including assessing your organisation’s current ability to understand and respond to disclosures or allegations of sexual harassment, abuse or bullying.
	We will work with your selected front-line staff to enhance the knowledge and understanding of and their ability to respond to incidents of sexual harassment, abuse or bullying. Your TIE champion will become a first responder to support all staff who may be approached with a disclosure or complaint of sexual harassment, sexual abuse or bullying.
	We will work with your senior management to ensure that all activities incorporate appropriate trauma awareness and response. We will work with your organisation’s TIE champion and other front line response staff to ensure that they are able to operate at reflective practice level. Practical enhancements will focus on areas, including staff induction, CPD, HR practices and programme design.

To enquire about our TIE award, or if you have any related enquiries, please email [email protected]