Work begins to help employers get good advice on managing mental health at work

10 October 2007

Advice for employers on supporting the mental health of their staff is to be checked by a team of experts brought together by the government and the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.

The team will assess the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. The team begins work this autumn and is now seeking materials to review.

Sainsbury Centre employment programme director Dr Bob Grove said: "Every business in Britain will have staff who experience mental distress. Many employers do not know how best to support workers with mental health problems, nor how to promote good mental health at work and prevent unnecessary problems.

"Advice and practical support that employers can use and understand are essential. It can make workplaces more productive. It may reduce levels of sickness absence and the wasted potential of people losing their jobs because of mental ill health. But it must be accurate, clear and useful.

"Our service is free, confidential and voluntary. We will review the materials we receive for their clarity, accuracy and relevance to employers. We will review everything we are sent, published or not. We would especially like to receive material before it is published so that the panel can help to improve it."

Shift, the Department of Health-funded campaign to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness, has commissioned the Sainsbury Centre to assess the resources available.

Gary Hogman, Programme Lead for Shift said, "Shift's vision is a society where people of all ages do not experience stigma or discrimination on mental health grounds, and enjoy the same rights as other citizens. Employment is one of those rights and we hope that this project will make it easier for employers and employees to get the information they need to support people with mental health problems in the workplace."

The Independent Review Panel starts work this autumn and plans to post the first reviews early next year. It will meet four times a year.

At this stage it is seeking materials that help employers in:

  • Creating a mentally healthy workplace
  • Early identification, prompt action and job retention when people first experience mental distress
  • Supporting employees who have become unwell and helping them to return to work.

To send material for the panel to review, please contact Jenni Bacon at the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (jenni.bacon@centreformentalhealth.org.uk) who will send more information and a short questionnaire.