Today, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched its annual campaign to mark Stress Awareness Week. According to HSE statistics, stress, depression and anxiety now account for around half of all work-related ill-health.
From a regulatory perspective, we do know that HSE is now actively investigating cases of ill-health linked to stress. The first prosecutions for failing to ensure the mental health of workers are on the horizon. HSE’s business plan for 2025-26 cites 0.8 million cases of workers suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety as one of its challenges for the period. First in its list of strategies and objectives for the year is “Reduce work-related ill health, with a focus on mental health and stress”. And how do they propose to do that? Research; set standards; raise awareness; empower and delegate; deter and finally; enforce.
Make no mistake: regulation for workplace stress and mental health is here.
Days lost to employee stress are challenging. Long-term sickness leave can have a huge impact on businesses. Of course this shows financially but, perhaps more importantly, it shows in the added pressure on those colleagues who are taking on additional work in the absence of those on leave.
This is not to say that every case of stress is directly related to work; less so that every case of work-related ill-health will result in a prosecution. However, HSE has made its position clear and is it is incumbent on businesses to take reasonable steps to prevent ill health and that includes stress.
Businesses must have, among their suite of risk assessments, a risk assessment for stress. If you have five workers in your organisation this must be written down.
Businesses are well geared-up to ensure physical safety these days but the statistics would tend to suggest that we are behind the curve when it comes to mental wellbeing. There are steps that can be taken to manage the health of employees and workers and organisations with any number of workers are well-advised to take action.
Reach out to us for a confidential chat about your workplace risk assessments and procedures and let us help you to ensure that your workers, and therefore your business, are protected.
Around half of work-related ill health is down to stress, depression or anxiety; HSE Working Minds Campaign.
https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/working-minds/?utm_term=saw-2&utm_content=saw-3-nov-25