This petition potentially represents the biggest opportunity to create a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals in the UK you will see in your lifetime.

Now that is a bold statement. Let me break it down for you.

This petition calls for the UK government to introduce legislation and detailed guidance for the proactive management of mental health and wellbeing at work risks.

The working population of the UK is around 32 million people. Of these 32 million a recent stress survey revealed that 79% commonly experience excess stress in the workplace. That is in the region of 25 million. The workplace is the second biggest cause of stress in the UK, behind financial worries.

It is a sad fact that in 2020/21 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50% of all work-related ill health cases. In addition, almost twice as many people experienced work related mental ill health than experienced physical injury in the workplace. Such is the nature of the risk profile in our modern workplaces.

An employer’s duty towards their employees in the UK falls under health and safety legislation. The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 lays out the general “duty of care” an employer has. Under this legislation there appears to be only an implied duty towards mental health. Other specific duties exist under this legislation, but no specific duty exists towards mental health.

Specific duties are supported by secondary legislation (“regulations”) and guidance. This supports employers in implementing duties. There are no secondary regulations that concern the proactive management of mental health and wellbeing at work. There are only recommendations.

The difference being that regulations and guidance give a legally recognised standard and are enforceable. Recommendations are simply that, recommended actions. They are not mandatory and are not enforced by the regulator, The Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The frustrating thing is much of the work required to form a “Management of Mental Health and Wellbeing Regulation” has already been undertaken. The HSE recommends their “Management Standards” approach to workplace mental health management. Furthermore, a truly excellent government review was commissioned in 2017 into how employers can better support the mental health of all people currently in employment.

This is entitled “Thriving at work: The Stevenson/ Farmer review of Mental Health and Employers”. I would recommend reading this to anyone interested. This document details what it calls “core mental health standards”. These are a “framework for a set of actions which we believe all organisations in the country are capable of implementing quickly”.

This report, which was commissioned in 2017, even includes the recommendation:

We suggest Government sets clearer expectations of employers through legislation.

“Government should look to set clearer expectations of employers, who tell us they often do not feel clear on their minimum legal and regulatory responsibilities when it comes to mental health, nor confident in fulfilling these responsibilities.”

This is what this petition calls for. We need to move towards the implementation of a regulated standard for the proactive management of workplace mental health and wellbeing. We ask the government to combine and consolidate these different recommended approaches to workplace mental health and wellbeing. This can then form the foundation of new documented regulation. From it, further detailed employer guidance can then be produced. Setting out specific duties and responsibilities and support for implementation and delivery.

The human and financial costs of continuing with our current system are enormous. It can no longer be acceptable that we have laws that govern physical harm in the workplace and yet our minds are not afforded the same degree of protection. It is estimated that 300,000 people with a long-term mental health problem lose their jobs each year, much higher than those with physical conditions.

In addition, this is costing the UK somewhere in the region of between £131 and £168 billion a year. This includes employers, the government in providing benefits, falls in tax revenue and costs to the NHS, and cost to the economy.

It cannot be claimed that our current approach is effective. The numbers tell a very different story. If something proves to be ineffective then action should be taken to change and improve. Sign this petition today if you support the change. UK workplace mental health and wellbeing: From recommendation to regulation.

For more on this and other mental health topics, including mental wellbeing improvement, visit mentallaxative.com

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