RATIONALE

Ø  13.7m working days are lost each year as a result of work-related mental illness, at a loss of total productivity  of £28.3bn a year (NICE – National Institute of Clinical Excellence, 2010). 

Ø  From a legal perspective, employers have a ‘duty of care’ cited in The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (NI Order 1978) ‘...duty of every employer to ensure as far as reasonably practicable (and foreseeable), the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees, including mental health’.  

 Ø  Providing a counselling service does not now totally cover an Employer’s ‘duty of care’ – education and awareness of stress and other mental ill health issues should be part of health and safety within the workplace (Intel v Daw, 2007 and O2 v Dickins, 2008) – proactive, rather than reactive. 

Ø  From an employees’ aspect, litigation can be taken against an employer under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 & 2005 as stress is now included in the later version as a ‘mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. 

Ø  [BETH GIBB]  Is an ISMA (International Stress Management Association) accredited and registered stress trainer and advisor. There are two specific definitions of stress that are adhered to:

• ‘The adverse reaction a person has to excessive pressure or other types of demands placed upon them’ – The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
•  ‘That which arises when the pressure placed upon an individual exceeds the capacity of that individual to cope’ – The Confederation of British Industry (CBI).   

Ø  Participating in stress management education and awareness sessions not only increases morale and empowerment, leads to empathy with sufferers and reduces absenteeism, but also lessens litigation risks for the organisation, increases productivity and great organisational PR in the ‘caring’ of staff.