Most employees would agree that their managers and employers fail to recognise when they are under excessive pressure and are unable to identify heightened stress levels and other mental health issues afflicting their staff. Perhaps, this is a direct consequence of overwork and stress also affecting the employer but employers would be wise to take greater care of the mental health of their staff given that mental ill-health is estimated to cost up to £9 billion in salary. Just think then of the virtually unquantifiable cost in terms of lost time and productivity (the Health and Safety Executive suggests that 13.8 million working days were lost to stress in 2006-2007!). Few employers are equipped with policies for dealing with their employees’ mental well-being and are unaware of their legal rights and responsibilities regarding sickness.

The Health and Safety Executive recommends putting policies in place to identify and tackle the causes of stress. Such policies could include providing training to allow managers to identify stress in the working environment and in employees and seek to counter its negative effects. Some firms may wish to offer counselling to staff who are suffering the effects of stress in a bid in an attempt to re-integrate them into the workplace as soon as possible.

It is quite clear that employers must change their attitude towards stress and recognise that the workplace can and does make people ill. As a result, policies must be devised to minimise the risks to employees’ health. Don’t let your business become a victim, talk to the employment experts at Milne Moser who will help you to navigate this problematic area of employment law.

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