MENTAL HEALTH & STRESS
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
Bob Christie, Employment Law Consultant at NatWest Mentor, explains why mental health absences require careful management and explores how employers can ease staff back into working life upon their return.
Mental health-related absenteeism has become a significant issue in UK workplaces. In 2011 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development issued a report highlighting how stress is now the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual workers.
The Department of Health estimates that one in four people will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their lives which, along with the impact on the well-being of the individual, comes with a significant cost to the economy. Presenteeism - turning up for work when you are not well enough - from mental ill health alone is costing the UK economy £15.1 billion per annum according to the Centre for Mental Health.
It is therefore vital that these issues are carefully managed in the workplace with special care taken to ensure an employee can make the adjustment when they return to work after a mental health-related absence.
HOW CAN WE HELP? The first step is for a manager to carry out an effective return to work meeting with the employee to gain a better understanding of their medical problems, explore how the employer can support the individual's return to work and hopefully get an agreed plan in place.
A manager should also keep an open mind in terms of what work the returning employee can and cannot do. The key to this will be having
24
discussions with the individual to understand how their condition affects them, explore if there are any workplace triggers and, if so, consider what adjustments can be made to support their return to work. It may also be appropriate to seek medical guidance from the employee's GP or by way of an occupational health assessment.
While it should depend on an individual’s circumstances and analysis of medical advice, a phased return to work, both in terms of hours and workload, following a lengthy period of absence is often advisable. As well as allaying some of the pressures on an employee over their performance when they have just come back into the workplace, it will also help the employer to adopt a structured approach in monitoring their colleague’s progress against the agreed phased return plan.
WHAT SHOULD BE
COMMON KNOWLEDGE? Then comes the thorny issue of how you communicate with others in the workplace about a colleague’s return from a mental health related illness. Details of an individual’s health should be treated in the strictest of confidence. Information about an employee’s medical conditions constitute ‘sensitive personal data’ and therefore an employer has to ensure such information is handled and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. It is usually best practice to have a discussion
with the returning employee to explore what they want to say to their colleagues and what level of information they are happy to disclose.
In legal terms an employee with long term mental health problems may be treated as ‘disabled’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and is therefore protected from discrimination due to their disability. Employers can also be liable for the actions of their employees so they need to ensure that colleagues do not act in a discriminatory way towards an individual.
All employees are entitled to a duty of trust and confidence, as well as a duty of care. This could be breached if any absence is poorly managed and potentially lead to a constructive unfair dismissal case, or a personal injury claim.
While mental health-related issues are likely to continue to present major challenges across many UK workplaces, employers who follow the right procedures can avoid legal pitfalls and, more importantly, help successfully reintegrate colleagues back into their jobs and engender the best performance from them going forward.
www.natwestmentor.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76