On the 10th October it is World Mental Health Day, with the theme for this year, being “access to services – mental health in catastrophes and emergencies”.
While that does not relate directly to many an occupation, mental health awareness has rarely been out of the headlines for the past decade. Prominent figures such as Prince William often speak on the topic. It was his brother Harry who observed:
“We all have mental health in the same way that we have physical health.”
As an employer, you have probably been mindful of employee mental health at least since COVID. And you may have had to deal with complex issues with mental health as the root cause.
At a national level there is crisis, with a newspaper report suggesting that in March this year, 5,000 people per working day were being signed on to long-term sickness benefit – more than double the previous year, a rise largely driven by mental ill health. It is leading to strong calls for changes to the benefits system, but it is another area of mental health law that is being changed first.
Changes afoot
As the conversation has shifted, the government felt that the 1983 Mental Health Act did not reflect contemporary attitudes and that it was letting vulnerable people down. Now the Mental Health Bill 2025 is approaching the end of its passage through parliament, and is expected to receive royal assent in the coming months.
It is far broader than a piece of employment legislation, but it will impact how you manage mental health in your business. In many cases this will be a subtle shift, as the Equality Act already recognises mental health conditions. However, it will raise the bar of how you respond to mental health issues.
Here is a checklist of some of the areas in which you may need to make changes.
Mental health policy review
It is a good time to review your company handbook, as a number of policies like sickness absence, performance management and return-to-work-procedure may need updating. Do they reflect the correct referral process and adequately address confidentiality expectations, for example?
You can ask us to do this for you (for Advice Line retained clients it is done automatically as part of the service).
Mental health risk assessments
You have a duty of care towards all employees. You may need to give greater attention to mental health dangers within company risk assessments, ensuring you are proactively managing conditions such as burnout, anxiety and PTSD (more relevant to some sectors/roles than others). Our sister company The Health & Safety Dept, can help you with this – specialist input is sensible.
Mental health training
Line managers will be able to perform better for you if they understand the intricacies of mental health, from spotting the early signs of burnout, to having sensitive conversations with staff struggling with anxiety.
It is thought that poor mental health accounts for 12% of UK sick days, costing more than £51 billion. Improving the way mental health issues are managed could translate into significant savings at an individual business level.
We offer a range of in-person workshops and eLearning modules that can fulfil this for you.
Mental health first aiders
Continuing the training theme, many businesses choose to have a mental health first aider trained up within their workforce. These are mental health champions who know how to spot the early signs of trouble; can triage effectively; take some of the strain off direct line management; and by their very existence reduce stigma around mental health.
Again our sister company The Health & Safety Dept, should be your first port of call for this.
Always here to help you
Many business owners and managers can feel out of their depth when it comes to mental health and the workforce. Getting it wrong can lead to damaging outcomes like long-term sickness absence. We are always here to help you navigate the correct path, reflecting the latest legislation.
