In the Know - 9th October 2023

How to support employees’ mental health.

Mental health is a serious issue and employers are being expected to do more. Use Mental Health Awareness Day to review your policies and practices.

• This year, the theme of World Mental Health Day on 10th October is that “Mental health is a universal human right”.
• By taking positive steps to support individuals experiencing poor mental health, employers can experience real benefits within their organisation.
• 80% of employees would rather have good mental health than a high-paying job, according to research by UKG.
• To help promote an equal and inclusive workplace culture, organisations can take steps to raise awareness of mental health within the workplace.
• Have an open door so that employees always feel that they can talk to their manager.
• Continuously check on employees’ workload to make sure that it is not too high and monitor employee stress levels to try to prevent matters from spiralling.
• Organisations can carry out specific mental health training to help the workforce become more informed and to highlight what support is available if an individual, or team member, experiences mental ill health.
• Steps should be taken to identify what areas of the workplace may be causing mental ill health. One-to-one meetings with employees to discuss their individual circumstances are a good place to start.

Supporting employees affected by world conflict

Employees in the UK may have relatives and loved ones impacted by an ongoing world conflict. Employers should be prepared to offer support to employees who are affected. Employees may benefit from temporary adjustments such as changes to their working hours, rest breaks or alterations to their duties.

Whilst employees may have differing viewpoints, it is important to have policies in place setting out that a zero-tolerance approach is taken to any form of bullying, harassment or discriminatory behaviour in the workplace.

Did you know?

Mental Health First Aiders can be a really useful component in your support to employees who are impacted by world conflict.

Supporting Employees with baby loss

Baby Loss Awareness Week, which runs from 9th to 15th October, is a good time to reflect on the support provided to employees. Creating an open and supportive culture is important so that employees know that they will be supported.

Employees are entitled to parental bereavement leave of either one week, two continuous weeks, or two separate weeks, on the death of a child under 18, including a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. This leave is paid when the employee has at least 6 months continuous service and earns over the lower earnings limit.

Did you know?

Training managers so that they know how to support affected employees and have sensitive conversations at such a difficult time will be crucial.

Appeal allowed for carers dismissed for Covid jab failure

A group of care home employees were sacked because they failed to comply with their employer’s contractual COVID-19 vaccine requirement policy.

This was prior to the Government’s decision that having the Covid jab was mandatory. At the Employment Tribunal (ET) it was decided that their dismissal was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances. But they have now appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

Did you know?

The EAT has allowed the appeal to be heard on the claimant’s argument that the ET did not properly assess the infringement on their human rights.

Three simple and effective ways to make your SME safer

Implement a health and safety policy. If you have five or more employees then it is a legal requirement to have a written health and safety policy, if you have less than five employees it should be recorded anyway. Appoint a competent person.

The competent person within your business should have the relevant qualifications, skills and experience to carry out the health and safety role. Assess the risks. You should carry out in-depth risk assessments and identify any risks that are posed by the tasks carried out in your business.

Did you know?

Your health and safety policy should also be reviewed on a 12-monthly basis as a minimum and communicated to all employees.

Please contact the 24-hour advice service for advice on your specific situation before acting on the information in this publication.

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