The AFTER Charter
Supporting your people when it matters most
Each year, around 7,000 people died by suicide in the UK*. It is estimated that 135 people are affected by every single loss.** Those closest to the individual are up to three times more likely than the general population to take their own lives. This leaves nearly 100,000 vulnerable people every year facing a unique kind of grief who need our support.
Suicide&Co is proud to introduce the AFTER Charter: an evidence-based solution and a bridge to swift, ethical, compassionate support when navigating suicide loss in the workplace. We provide teams with the exact tools, language, and knowledge needed to navigate suicide loss with confidence, empathy, and when more specialist help is needed, you’ll know exactly where to turn, with Suicide&Co there to guide you and your people every step of the way.
This complete suicide bereavement support package is aligned with BS 30480, the world's first standard dedicated to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention support in the workplace, published by The British Standards Institution (BSI).
There is a distinct, unshakeable "before" and "after" when you lose someone to suicide, and our charter exists to provide a steady roadmap through the uncharted territory
*Office for National Statistics, 2024
**Cerel, J., Brown, M. M., Maple, M., Singy, P., van de Venne, J., Moore, M. & Flaherty, C. (2019)
The 5 Pillars of the AFTER Charter
The AFTER Charter provides UK organisations with an evidence-based strategy to respond effectively when suicide impacts your workforce.
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Taking steps towards a trauma-informed postvention policy that moves beyond basic compassionate leave.
Policy and process review: Review and strengthen relevant processes, including bereavement, compassionate leave and return to work, against the Charter recommendations.
Clear support and responsibilities: Define how support following a suicide loss is provided, and ensure organisational procedures and responsibilities are clearly owned and communicated.
Ethical principles: Embed compassion, confidentiality, respect, dignity and sensitivity into the organisation’s response, helping remove barriers to immediate care.
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Providing immediate guidance and support when an employee loses someone to suicide or a colleague dies by suicide.
24 hour response from HR and leadership: Take informed steps within 24 hours of an incident, guided by Suicide&Co’s expert video consultations.
Crisis communications: Make clear team announcements that help avoid compounding trauma using pre-drafted, compassionate communication templates.
Team support: Guide teams safely through the immediate aftermath using practical tools to support affected individuals, teams and the managers responsible for them.
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Ensuring returning employees receive compassionate, longer-term reintegration rather than facing sudden performance expectations.
Three-month soft return plan: Provide a structured approach to phased reintegration, including flexible hours, adjusted workloads and remote working options where appropriate.
Grief Recovery Action Plan (GRAP): Help returning employees identify workplace stressors, triggers and areas where additional support may be needed using Suicide&Co’s practical resources.
Employee-led milestones: Hold regular, non-intrusive check-ins shaped around individual wellbeing, workload and the employee’s experience of returning to work.
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Equipping line managers with practical tools so they feel more confident supporting a colleague following a suicide loss.
Manager handbooks: Provide lived-experience-informed guidance for navigating complex grief, conversations and workload management.
Team support guides: Offer clear guidance for colleagues on what to say, what to do and how to interact sensitively with a returning team member.
On-demand learning: Build confidence and understanding through thought-leadership sessions and on-demand video modules focused on creating supportive workplace environments.
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Creating clear routes to connect employees to our expert support
Embedded support: Make specialist care easy to find and access through direct links and QR codes to our early bereavement support, counselling services and relevant organisational support.
Cultural awareness: Increase understanding and address stigma surrounding suicide-related grief by hosting talks and thought-leadership sessions and sharing this learning across the organisation.
Annual signposting audit: Ensure managers understand the available support and can confidently direct bereaved employees towards appropriate care by running an annual review of signposting routes.
Why now?
When we conducted our first workplace survey at Suicide&Co in 2022, the data revealed a stark and painful reality: 76% of people struggled with returning to work after a suicide loss. That single statistic underscores just how ill-equipped traditional workplace structures are to handle complex grief.
In response, we built a comprehensive suite of guides, established a membership network, and spent years working alongside businesses to change that narrative. Yet, the momentum truly accelerated last year following the release of the British Standards Institution (BSI) guidance, BS 30480, which signalled a major shift toward trauma-informed workplace standards.
Now is the moment to transform that momentum into meaningful, standardised action. The AFTER Charter builds directly on that robust guidance, focusing specifically on suicide loss, covering everything from dedicated leave policies to phased three-month return plans and lived-experience manager and HR toolkits.
Crucially, the Charter serves as a direct link to our expert services right when a crisis hits as our early bereavement support is embedded into the framework, meaning employees can be connected directly to our professional team as early as their first week of loss.
By making the workplace the primary "front door" for immediate support and direct signposting, we ensure that no one has to navigate the overwhelming "after" of suicide loss without a compassionate safety net in place
Key reasons to sign up
equip teams
Managers and teams are often unsure what to do or say when someone is navigating a suicide loss. The Charter gives them practical guidance, conversation tools and checklists to respond with knowledge, confidence and compassion.
Strengthen support
Too many employees navigating suicide loss don’t receive the support they need at work. The Charter gives employers a clear framework to respond compassionately and provides a direct route to specialist suicide bereavement support.
Retain people
Suicide bereaved employees can struggle to stay connected to work or return after a loss. The Charter helps employers provide a compassionate, flexible response that supports recovery, can reduce absence and may lower the risk of people leaving.
What happens when you sign the AFTER Charter?
Instant access to the Charter Pack: Receive access to all our guidance and templates under each pillar
Expert onboarding support: If needed you can connect directly with the Suicide&Co team for a guidance session to review your current areas of focus.
Official Partner recognition: Join our list of Partners on the website and show your support using our promotional templates.
Founding Partners
