Pictured: (l-r) Sheree Dixon (D&G) and Kirsty Ellis (The Gym)

Employees at Domestic & General have been attempting to shed those excess holiday pounds by taking part in a wellness summer fete.

The Nottingham-based call centre hosted a day filled with initiatives aimed at helping to improve the health and wellbeing of its employees. They were able to come in early and take advantage of a healthy breakfast before getting the chance to take part in a range of activities including Zumba dance class taster sessions run by a professional instructor.

For those who wanted a less strenuous activity, there was a professional beauty therapist on hand offering mini facials, hand and arm massages, head and shoulder and back massages. Employees were also given the chance to sample delicious free smoothies, which were provided by Nottingham-based Boost Juice Bar.

Representatives from Weight Watchers were there giving people advice on how to join the diet plan, along with staff from The Gym Group, who were offering blood pressure checks, body fat analysis, hydration testing and exercise advice.

As well as all the activities taking place, there were also competitions and giveaways on offer including goodie bags, a free prize draw for everyone who attended and a 'guess the calories' competition.

Clare Nock, HR assistant and organiser of the event said: "We arranged the fete because previous wellness-related activities have been such a huge success. We thought that this was a good time to host a day like this, as everyone tends to want to lose a few pounds after the summer break. All of the Zumba classes and beauty sessions were fully booked, which shows that our employees really value these events, and take their own wellbeing seriously."

Domestic & General employs over 800 people ranging in age between 16 and 75 at its offices on Talbot Street. Since 2008, the company has focused on wellness as opposed to sickness, and in this time, the number of sickness-related absences at the centre have decreased. The company continues its commitment to offering its employees regular wellness events as well as access to an occupational health provider and the chance to speak to health representatives from local health trusts.

Tracy Burrell, HR manager at Domestic & General says: "The various wellness initiatives which we have run over the last three years have been hugely successful. Not only have our sickness related absences dropped but  staff motivation has improved and we have also seen our turnover of employees reduce from 45% in June 2008 to 23% in May 2011.

"This means we have a more stable, experienced and healthy workforce which has been demonstrated with year on year increases in business performance."