VIRTUAL vegan cooking classes, two-hour breaks and budgets for plants are among the staff support measures offered at a York company.

RotaCloud has placed wellbeing at the heart of its business strategy, finding creative ways to look after its staff, especially after seeing the huge impact 2020 has had on working and home lives.

As well as flexible working, RotaCloud has introduced the Swedish concept of fika (taking proper breaks) and a £500 annual learning budget for employees to spend on learning something new.

The company has also given staff a budget to spend on plants at Botanic in Walmgate.

Co-founder James Lintern said RotaCloud was placing more emphasis on wellbeing in 2021, starting with a month of activities, including two-hour lunch breaks a couple of times a week.

"The days are still really short, and as we’re all still working from home there aren’t as many reasons to get outside, so we wanted to help people make use of the daylight, get outside, and get some fresh air and vitamin D.

There are also talks, ranging from good mental, physical and dietary health to money matters, plus vegan cooking classes.

"There will be physical challenges throughout the month as well as health checks from our health insurer, Vitality.

“People can opt-in or out of as much or as little of the activity as they like, and we’ve tried to keep it as varied as possible so there’s something for everyone.

"Looking after our team’s mental health and wellbeing is our number one priority, and if we can make their working days a little more joyful — whether that’s by giving everyone houseplants to add greenery to their workspaces, or a longer lunch to take the dog for a walk — we hope that these initiatives will help people feel a little healthier, and a little happier, as we head in to 2021.”