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May/June 2023 issue

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Regulation/enforcement
Sector: Central government
News

Chief execs urge PM to mandate workplace mental health first aid training

Open-access content Monday 19th November 2018
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

Chief execs urge PM to mandate workplace mental health first aid training

Chief executives and senior managers from likes of Ford, Mace, PwC, Royal Mail, Thames Water and WH Smith have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May asking her to bring mental health care in line with physical health and to make mental health first aid mandatory in all workplaces.

May said last year she would update safety and health legislation to require employers to train mental health first aid responders and would extend the Equality Act to protect those with intermittent mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, from being discriminated against at work.

The letter argues "there are both economic and human reasons for protecting mental health in the workplace and combined, these reasons present a powerful case for updating the law".

The letter says: "As an employer we have a duty of care to our staff and whilst some employers are at the forefront of change, equalising their number of mental health first aiders with physical first aiders, we cannot afford to leave anyone behind. Cost cannot be a reason for objections because in the long run it is inevitable that making mental health first aid in the workplace mandatory will save money.

"Success will ensure employees across the country can access a trained staff member to receive initial support and guidance if they are dealing with a mental health issue at work. Success will ensure every employee has the right to a mentally healthy environment. Success will mean we can finally break the stigma of mental health in the workplace."

According to Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, one in six people of working age will experience mental ill health including depression, anxiety or issues relating to stress and this is estimated to cost the UK economy almost £35bn a year.

Fionuala Bonnar, chief operating officer of MHFA England, said: "[This] open letter shows that business leaders clearly recognise the need to support their employees' mental health in the same way they do their physical health.

"The change in legislation we are calling for will establish a baseline for protecting mental health in the workplace, ensuring no one is left behind. This is just one part of improving approaches to workplace mental health, but it represents an important step forward."

The Health and Safety Executive's 2017-18 annual occupational injury and ill health statistics, published last month, showed that the rate of stress and mental health problems among Great Britain's workforce is the highest in 17 years.

Cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety rose by 13% to 1,800 per 100,000 workers in the 12 months to April 2018 compared with 2016-17. Some 15.4 million working days were lost to stress, depression or anxiety in 2017-18, which equates to an average of 25.8 days per case.

IOSH's head of policy and public affairs Richard Jones said:

"IOSH encourages an intelligent, preventative approach to managing psychosocial risks in workplaces, supported by appropriate responses to mental ill-health and its impacts.

"Well-designed occupational safety and health management systems will take account of work-related mental health issues, focusing on prevention. Organisations need to support those with mental health conditions at work and tackle discrimination and stigma. Where there is mental ill-health at work, it's important that it's competently managed and also that there are personalised return-to-work plans for workers following absence. We understand that the Health and Safety Executive will shortly be updating its first-aid guidance in respect to mental health to provide more clarity for employers.

"This Friday, IOSH will host a meeting of representatives from business, professional bodies and trades unions to discuss how to improve evaluation of the effectiveness of workplace mental health policies and practices. This will include new findings from our feasibility research into Mental Health First Aid in the workplace by researchers from The University of Nottingham."

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Image credit: ©Pablo_K

 Government announces measures to tackle attacks on NHS staff

Tuesday 6th November 2018
Last week Matt Hancock, health and social care secretary, launched a “zero tolerance” strategy on violence against NHS workers. The new partnership between the health service, the police and the CPS is part of this. It aims to help victims give evidence and to bring offenders to justice more swiftly. According to the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care, more than 15% of NHS workers have experienced violence from patients, their relatives or the public in the past 12 months – the highest figure for five years.
Open-access content
Image credit: ©iStock/vadimguzhva

 Government launches guide to support drive for inclusive workplaces for disabled staff

Friday 23rd November 2018
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), in partnership with employers and charities, have developed a framework to support employers that want to voluntarily report this information.
Open-access content

 Stress cases hit 17-year high

Thursday 1st November 2018
Cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety rose by 13% to 1,800 per 100,000 workers in the 12 months to April 2018 compared with 2016-17 when the condition became the most common work-related illness for the first time, overtaking musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). While the rate of MSDs continued a long-term downward trend in the most recent period, dropping to a low of 1,420 cases per 100,000 workers, work-related stress has shown signs of increasing in recent years.
Open-access content

 Interserve failed to maintain generators at animal lab

Tuesday 20th November 2018
Interserve Facilities Management was contracted to service mechanical and electrical systems at a laboratory site for the then Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (now Animal and Plant Health Agency) in Weybridge, Surrey.On Sunday 21 September 2014 mains power was lost at the premises, comprising high containment laboratory facilities used to handle hazardous pathogens that pose a serious risk to human health and the environment, Hove Crown Court was told.
Open-access content
© iStock/ ved007

 ‘Deceitful’ builder first to be fined under NZ’s new asbestos regulations

Wednesday 14th November 2018
Richard John Knight was prosecuted under ss 206(1)(a), (b) and 3(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 at Christchurch District Court and fined NZ$3,000 (£1,562).New Zealand OSH regulator WorkSafe found that, as well as working without a Class A removal licence – which ensures a competent person is engaged to carry out the work –  Knight had also failed to obtain the required certification for the work he completed.
Open-access content
Image credit: © REX/Shutterstock.

 £1m fine for nuclear weapons facility after electrician’s burns

Monday 12th November 2018
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) investigated the electrical incident, which took place during routine testing on 27 June 2017. The AWE, which works under contract to the Ministry of Defence, employs scientists, engineers and specialists at the Berkshire site to work on the UK’s Trident nuclear warheads.The BBC reported that ONR inspectors had raised concern about the safety of staff involved in electrical work two years earlier.
Open-access content
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