Centre for Mental Health

Employers and government must do more for mental health says new report

10 October 2007

Employers and government must work differently if people with mental health problems are to be recruited more easily, according to a new report from Employers' Forum on Disability and the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.

Launched on World Mental Health Day, 10 October, Recruitment and mental health encourages employers to take a more positive approach to employees who have, or have had, mental health problems.

The report also calls for government to put an emphasis on mental health in its disability awareness campaigns, with increased support for employers through recruitment services.

Employers' Forum on Disability chief executive Susan Scott-Parker says: "Mental health problems account for around a third of sickness absence, costing business approximately £4 billion a year.

"Most employers are probably employing people who have had depression, anxiety and other mental health problems - and they don't even realise it.

"Employers need a central source of advice to go to on employing people with mental health problems.

"With Government support along with a flexible approach and reasonable adjustments, it should be possible to recruit and retain more talented employees, who have had mental ill health."

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health chief executive Angela Greatley said: "The vast majority of people with mental health problems can and do work. One employee in six will have a mental health problem at any time. With the right support, they can be as productive as any of their colleagues.

"Yet up to a million adults with mental health problems are out of work. This is an avoidable waste of skills, knowledge and potential. Employers can benefit from ensuring they support staff when they experience mental distress and from giving people with a history of mental health problems a fair chance to get a job."

Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers.

With over 400 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.