Why get involved?
Our Employers Programme aims to help your organisation get the very best from your workforce.
On this page, find out how addressing issues around mental health and wellbeing at work can increase productivity, improve staff retention, aid recruitment, and help meet your legal obligations.
Quick links on this page:
The costs of mental ill-health at work
Recruitment, staff retention and morale
Legal obligations on employers
According to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health's report Mental Health At Work - Developing the Business Case, mental illness costs UK employers £25 billion every year - equivalent to £1000 per employee per year.
£2.4 billion of this is attributed to staff turnover, £8.4 billion to sickness absence ('absenteeism') and a staggering £15.1 billion to reduced productivity among people who remain at work but who are unwell ('presenteeism').
> read more about Mental Health at Work - Developing the Business Case (external site)
When a worker becomes ill to the extent that they become absent for long periods or quit their post altogether, all their skills, knowledge and experience goes with them, causing disruption, lost productivity and incurring extra costs in recruitment and training.
Absenteeism, the loss of staff to mental ill health and low productivity associated with presenteesim often have the knock-on effects of reducing staff morale and creating higher levels of pressure and stress as colleagues adopt increased workloads to compensate.
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A positive attitude to mental health and wellbeing at work can help staff maintain and improve their mental health and wellbeing, reduce absences and boost productivity.
People can and do recover from periods of mental ill health and work can play a major part in this, benefiting both the individual and their employer.
Many people with ongoing mental health problems can, with the right support, remain productive members of the workforce or enter the workplace if they have been absent from it.
An organisational culture that is inclusive and actively supports people, particularly through periods of difficulty, can lead to improved morale, aid retention of personnel and make an employer more attractive to job applicants.
Recruitment and employment practices that are supportive of people with mental health problems gives organisations access to a wider pool of skills, knowledge and experience than would otherwise be the case.
There are also legal obligations on employers regarding the mental health and wellbeing of existing employees and potential recruits.
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Through the training and employer supports we offer, bWell can help your organisation meet its legal obligations around mental health and wellbeing.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, employers must ensure that their recruitment practices and employment policies do not discriminate against people with existing mental health problems or who become mentally ill while in employment.
Under the terms of the Act, many mental health problems are considered equal to physical impairments. Those experiencing them may be entitled to 'reasonable adjustments' to their working environment and tasks to enable them to access or remain in employment.
> view the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 online (external site)
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a general duty not to harm the health of their employees. This includes their mental welfare.
> view the Health and Safety Executive's guide to The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 (external site)
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999 place a duty on employers to assess the health risks of work activities - including ill health caused by stress.
> view the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999 online (external site)
> view details of the The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (external site)
Although the Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards for Tackling Work-Related Stress contains no new laws in addition to those above, Enforcing Authorities have the power to take action against employers who fail to take steps to meet the standards.
> Visit the Management Standards for Tackling Work-related Stress website (external site)
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