Southeastern enhances staff wellbeing

In a service where one absence can impact a thousand journeys, Southeastern, one of Britain’s busiest train operators, is laying the tracks for a more resilient and people-supported rail service. The company is strengthening the wellbeing of its frontline staff and improving workforce availability thanks to a new partnership with employee care platform, Sonder.

Serving more than 500,000 daily passengers across London, Kent and East Sussex, Southeastern plays a vital role in connecting communities and enabling economic productivity. With a workforce of around 4,500 employees—including drivers, conductors, on-board managers, and station staff—the company manages 165 stations and the UK’s first domestic high-speed train service.

When safety-critical employees such as drivers are absent, trains cannot run. This leads to disruption, lost revenue, and passengers unable to reach their destinations; every absent driver can result in up to five trains being cancelled affecting over 5,000 passengers. 

To support employee wellbeing, Southeastern had been using a traditional Employee Assistance Programme, however engagement remained limited and the service wasn’t fully aligned with the needs of a diverse, shift-based workforce.  

Recognising the crucial link between employee wellbeing and service delivery, Southeastern has adopted Sonder’s integrated care platform to provide its workforce with 24/7 access to physical, mental health and safety support - purpose-built to specifically address the needs of shift-based and frontline workers. 

Sonder’s model prioritises early intervention, connecting employees with fast, qualified advice, clinician-led triage, and mobile-first accessibility - all critical features for a geographically dispersed and diverse team such as Southeastern’s.

Alex South, head of HR shared services at Southeastern, said:  “Our people are central to the service we deliver. Sonder gives our teams fast, trusted access to care, whether it’s health-related, emotional, or promoting personal safety. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re already seeing impactful engagement across the company.”

Within just two months of rollout, 20% of Southeastern’s workforce engaged with Sonder’s platform. This far surpasses the utilisation typically seen with traditional EAP models, which average 2–5% usage across all industries. In Southeastern’s case, 50% of the employees who have contacted Sonder now have access to counselling services, and one in three are reaching a GP. This demonstrates both the demand for, and the ease of, access to support.

The move reflects a broader trend in that many organisations are finding that legacy EAPs often fail to meet modern workforce needs, particularly for shift-based or operational teams due to low visibility, limited availability outside business hours, and a lack of real-time triage. Sonder's platform is designed to address these shortcomings, with average response times of under 10 seconds and the flexibility to connect with care via phone, chat, or self-service options.As part of its workforce strategy, Southeastern is also using the platform to support smarter absence management. 

A recent incident involved an employee who sustained a minor head injury. After talking to their manager, they used the Sonder app to speak with a nurse who assessed their condition and recommended rest for the day, with a follow-up the next morning. As a result, the employee safely returned to work after just one day—avoiding a potentially lengthy absence. Retaining the individual in work delivered an estimated cost saving of £5,600 in productivity and occupational health referrals, it also gave the individual peace of mind and reassurance to continue working safely.

The partnership was also embraced by union representatives, with initial pilots launched in the driver community receiving strong support. By removing barriers to access, offering discretion and immediacy, and integrating with Southeastern’s broader safety and wellbeing framework, Sonder is helping to shift the culture from reactive support to proactive care.