As an Employer, looking after the mental health of your employees at work falls under your duty of care to protect employees psychological well being as part of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It is important therefore to take the same due care and attention toward your staff’s mental health as...
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As an Employer, looking after the mental health of your employees at work falls under your duty of care to protect employees psychological well being as part of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It is important therefore to take the same due care and attention toward your staff’s mental health as you would their physical health.
Approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Whilst many mental health issues are generally temporary and short term, there may be instances where these develop into longer term mental health conditions.
From an employers’ standpoint, poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion, with presenteeism being the leading cause for over £24 billion in costs. Burnout and family members’ mental health also has a considerable effect.
Get in touch with Employer Advice today to get advice and request a mental health policy. Call 0800 470 3529
What is mental health?
We all have mental health, just like physical health, and much like our physical health, there are numerous factors that can impact our mental health for the better, or for the worse.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as:
“A state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.
It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in. Mental health is a basic human right. And it is crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.”
Should my business have a mental health policy?
Having a dedicated mental health policy can help employers create an open and honest dialogue with their workforce, with the intention of not only raising awareness but also to improve mental health and create a more supportive working environment.
Employer Advice draws on their 80 years of helping employers with everything from health and safety to employment law and HR. Contact us today for expert advice and to request our FREE mental health policy resource to support your business and your employees.
What should I include in a mental health policy?
There are several key things that your business should include in a mental health policy. It should define your business’ approach to mental health, benchmarking how to support those with mental health problems as well as helping to improve mental health overall for all employees.
Your mental health policy should apply to everyone throughout the business and as an employer you should take responsibility for communicating the policy effectively across the company, and ensuring that teams implement it.
There are several points your mental health policy must outline. Some examples of points in the policy to include how your business will:
Implementing a mental health policy showcases that your company puts an equal standing on mental health as it does physical health problems.
Poor mental health and mental illness can have a negative effect not just on the employee but can have repercussions on productivity, collaboration and the overall happiness of the working environment.
A person’s mental health can be affected by various factors, both internal and external. Some external factors that can negatively affect or impact the quality of a person’s mental health include everyday things like normal stresses at work.
The problem arises when these normal stresses occur considerably more frequently over a prolonged period of time. If left unaddressed, these stressors can lead to poor mental health, including burnout, as well as common mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Some individuals may have a pre-existing mental health condition, this can include things like clinical depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and bi-polar disorder.
These conditions can become worsened by prolonged exposure to stress factors.
Every individual is different which is why sometimes it can often be overlooked that an employee is struggling with a mental health problem. Whilst some signs are vague, others can be a good indicator that someone is experiencing poor mental health.
[Please note:] This is not an exhaustive list, and as is the case with individuals, some employees may only show some of the above and some people may not show any of the above signs at all and yet still be struggling with their mental health.
Making time for regular check-ins with your staff is a good way to engage with those who work from home, it also means you are more likely to notice if there are potential mental health problems.
Issues with mental health can be particularly hard to notice if an employee works remotely, and early intervention can lessen the impact of poor mental health on both your business and the employee.
The best way you, as an employer, can support employees with their mental health problems is to promote a culture of openness, where employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health with management.
Mental health policy goes a long way into helping ensure you set up the right workplace culture surrounding mental health.
Another way that your business can better support mental health in the workplace is to invest in an employee assistance programme.
An employee assistance programme, or EAP for short, is an employee benefit that gives employees a safe space to discuss both personal and professional challenges that are having a negative impact on their mental health and their work performance.
An employee assistance programme, or EAP for short, is an employee benefit that gives employees a safe space to discuss both personal and professional challenges that are having a negative impact on their mental health and their work performance.
Just a few of the ways EAPs can assist is offering free and confidential, legal and mental health services to employees.
This can include things like access to qualified mental health counselling and a 24/7 employee helpline, as well as online resources to aid mental health.
As an employer you have an obligation to your employees’ mental health, under your ‘duty of care’. This means you must do all you reasonably can to support employees’ health, safety and wellbeing. This includes:
It’s important as a business owner to treat mental health problems with the same importance as physical health problems. Failure to do so could result in a case for discrimination, especially if the employee is considered disabled as a result of their mental health conditions.
The Equality Act 2010, states that someone with poor mental health can be considered disabled if their mental health condition(s) fall into the following criteria:
The employee’s symptoms do not have to be present all of the time for their mental health condition to be considered a disability.
As an employer, if an employee is considered disabled, you must adhere to the following in law:
It is in the interests of both your business and your employee to find the right adjustments for them. This is true, even in the case that their mental health condition is not considered a disability.
There are many advantages to your business implementing a mental health policy. Having a healthier happier staff and overall better wellbeing in the working environment, benefits both employees and business owners. Just some of the benefits include:
Employees with good mental health are more likely to be engaged with their work and their colleagues.
Looking after your employees’ mental health and offering support for their wellbeing, means staff are less likely to look elsewhere due to feeling stressed.
This helps reduce staff turnover and can also have the additional bonus of increasing your reputation as an employer when it comes to hiring new staff.
If an employee has a good work life balance, they are less likely to take time off due to sickness. As a result, this will inevitably lead to a reduction in absenteeism.
Employer Advice have over 80 years of experience in supporting businesses with everything from Health & Safety, to Employment Law and HR.
If you’re looking to implement mental health policy for your business, talk to our friendly and professional advisors and ensure your staff are educated and supported on all things mental health related.
Call the Employer Advice experts today on 0800 470 3529.