EMCOR UK has appointed Jonathan Gawthrop to the newly created role of director of health, safety and wellbeing (HS&W). The appointment further supports the dynamic progress already made by EMCOR UK in the wellbeing field, and serves to underline its importance and association with health and safety in the modern facilities management industry.

Jonathan joined EMCOR UK in 2011, most recently serving as operations director, responsible for a multimillion portfolio of national accounts in multiple business sectors. Joining the executive leadership team of EMCOR UK, Jonathan will now take responsibility for the delivery of the provider’s health, safety and wellbeing strategy around the country, focusing on people and risk intelligence.

Prior to his appointment, Jonathan also completed an MSc Behaviour Change (Health and Wellbeing) at The University of Derby, and is passionate about integrating his academic expertise into his new responsibilities. He has also served as an independent verifier to the Mayor of London’s Healthy Workplace Charter, is a specialist member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) and sits on advisory boards for a number of cross industry working parties evolving HS&W in the UK.

Jonathan Gawthrop, on his new appointment, said: “We want to ensure that we are proactively creating an environment in which our teams are able to thrive through a culture of mutual understanding and respect for each another’s mental and physical health. Over time at EMCOR UK, we have worked hard to fully understand what this looks like for all our employees and designed different interventions to make sure that our teams feel that they are treated well and fairly with good health at the centre. As we continue this journey we are at a point where we are able to share our unique industry expertise with our customers to support their own HS&W journeys. The combination of health, safety and wellbeing means a lot to me as an individual and in my new role I look forward to working towards improving the workplace and society now and for the future.”