Rainy Day Trust has launched a new brand identity and website to mark a move from crisis-only support to being at hand every step of a working life, the most significant evolution in its 180-year history.
For nearly two centuries, Rainy Day Trust has been the sector's safety net, providing crisis grants to people working in DIY retail, builders' merchants, housewares, garden centres, and potteries when life is at its toughest. That safety net stays firmly in place but Rainy Day Trust's evolved mission goes further: preventing hardship, enabling early intervention, and providing vital support when crisis strikes.
New services include trained Workplace Ambassadors embedding wellbeing in businesses across the sector, early careers and apprentice support, expanded debt advice, and access to a range of online counselling services to meet all needs. This is support designed to reach people earlier, before problems escalate.
The new website gives a clear digital home for the three groups it serves: workers seeking confidential support, employers who want to invest in the wellbeing of their teams, and fundraisers who want to give back to their industry.
Rainy Day Trust is also inviting businesses across the sector to get in touch. It is keen to build proactive, ongoing partnerships that matter and enable it to be there when it is needed, and before. Employers can start the conversation at the charity's website or by emailing.
The change has come about in response to stark evidence that its sector is disproportionately affected by poor mental health and often poor physical health too. ONS analysis found that men in the lowest-skilled construction roles are 3.7 times more likely to die by suicide than the national average, whilst the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity reports that two construction workers take their own lives every working day in the UK.
Research published by the Chartered Institute of Building in 2025 found that 28% of construction workers had experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year. The picture is similar on the shop floor. The Retail Trust's Health of Retail report 2025 found 39% of retail workers blamed cost-of-living increases for a decline in their mental health. Physical health carries a heavy burden too, with the HSE reporting 79,000 construction workers suffering work-related ill health each year, over half of it musculoskeletal.
Anna Skeats, CEO of Rainy Day Trust, said: "This is a pivotal moment in our history of over 180 years. Too many people in our industry are struggling long before they reach that point, and their mental and physical health pays the price.
"Our new brand is a promise; we will be there sooner, at hand from someone's first day in the sector and at every step after it, helping our people live happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives. When our people thrive, our industry thrives."
Richard Drew, Chair of Rainy Day Trust and Sales Lead, Trade Independent Merchants at AkzoNobel, said: "Rainy Day Trust has always been there for our sector on its worst days. This evolution means it will be there for all the other days too. That's good for our people and good for our businesses and I'd encourage every employer in the industry to be part of it."
