Gibbs & Dandy Luton's very own in-house gym for staff has been given a council-approved award for its efforts in promoting workplace wellbeing.

Staff have been swapping work boots for sports trainers to take part in daily workouts at the newly installed gym, created from a disused storeroom.

Now the team’s efforts have been rewarded with an Active Luton, enhanced level of ‘Healthy Workplace’ Award. Active Luton are a council run set of gyms that visit local businesses to assess how and what is being done to encourage a healthy workplace.

The new Healthy Workplace Award is funded by the European Social Fund as part of the Luton Community Led Local Development project. It provides a framework to help Luton employers make a commitment to employee wellbeing and is free to those companies taking part.

Stuart Harm, Luton Branch Manager, said: “Everyone at the branch is very proud to have won the Healthy Workplace Award. We went straight in for the big award and it’s great to say we have been successful.

“It’s a fantastic endorsement of the team’s motivation to get the in-house gym up and running and how they have embraced this project.

“I am a big fitness fan, so this has been a dream of mine for the past few years. I truly believe that exercise can improve everyone’s wellbeing, even if it is just getting the heart rate up for 10 minutes a day.

“It’s great to see my colleagues discussing how energised they feel after their work outs and we now have an award for all our efforts.”

The gym is open every day from 6.30am until 5pm and until 6pm, three times a week. The branch also offers the gym facilities to customers for a small charge, which helps towards the upkeep and purchase of equipment.