{"id":3305,"date":"2017-09-14T14:11:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T14:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riaabarkergillette.com\/uk\/?p=3305"},"modified":"2024-11-19T20:38:28","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T20:38:28","slug":"workforce-wellbeing-must-include-mental-health-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riaabarkergillette.com\/uk\/workforce-wellbeing-must-include-mental-health-awareness\/","title":{"rendered":"Workforce wellbeing must include mental health awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Understanding of mental health issues is high on the agenda, thanks to the involvement of the younger members of the Royal family in the Heads Together awareness campaign earlier this year which saw the #oktosay hashtag trending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their activity gave an extra boost to Mental Health Awareness Week in June, but now the annual campaign is over, employers have an important role to play in making sure the message isn\u2019t forgotten. By having strategies that focus on mental health as part of employee wellbeing, businesses can help drive individual support, as well as improve the bottom line. They may also avoid potential grievances or even litigation from staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estimates by ACAS<\/a> suggest that around \u00a330bn each year is lost through lost production, recruitment and absence arising through mental health issues and the Centre for Mental Health<\/a> estimates that employers should be able to cut these costs by around a third if they implement better management practices to support mental health at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent research by the Mental Health Foundation<\/a>, the charity behind Mental Health Awareness Week, found that nearly two-thirds of people in Britain have experienced a mental health problem. The figure is higher for women than for men and for young adults between 18 and 34 and people living alone. It\u2019s a big issue, but often isn\u2019t discussed and campaigners are keen to get everyone talking more, to understand that mental health problems can have a serious impact on an individual, even though they may not be visible in the same way as a physical condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our employment lawyer, Karen Cole explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s the cloak of invisibility that may mean things are ignored or potentially mishandled. There is often a reluctance to raise the issue, as people find it hard to talk about mental health. They may feel there is a stigma, or that it could have an impact on their longer-term prospects, if they feel they may be seen as not strong enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers can help by putting support structures in place, with an open attitude to communication, which can drive better understanding as well as helping to address their legal obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, mental health issues may be classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010<\/a>, which makes it unlawful for an employer to treat a person with a disability less favourably because of their disability, without a justifiable reason. Mental health issues may be considered a disability if they have \u2018a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhere someone suffers from severe depression, for example, that is not enough on its own to meet the definition of \u2018disability\u2019 under the Equality Act; the circumstances would need to meet the requirement of having a substantial and long-term impact on the individual\u2019s abilities on an everyday basis. But, whatever the extent of an individual\u2019s mental health issues, all are equally in need of responsible support and protection from unfair or discriminatory treatment. There is a responsibility on the employer to tackle mental as well as physical health in the workplace and hard-wire it into all aspects of their recruitment and employment policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tips for employers include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n