Following shocking reports that one-third of employers believe that their organisation does not effectively manage stress at work, ACAS has published new helpful guidance for employers and employees on managing work-related stress, along with mental ill health at work.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required to risk assess and protect employees from health and safety risks at work. This can include risks such as work-related stress and mental health conditions.

As we outlined in our earlier article, stress and other mental health conditions can be considered a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and therefore employers must be aware of making reasonable adjustments for employees who may be suffering from stress and mental ill-health at work, and not discriminating against them because of their disability.

Some takeaway points to help support employees are:

• Be sensitive and supportive – managers can be supportive by arranging informal chats in private and asking employees open questions. Signpost to internal or external help if needed. Accept that employees might not feel comfortable speaking to a manager about their problems, so consider appointing a mental health champion within your organisation or signposting employees to someone else they work with. 
• Be confidential – keep conversations confidential, but make it clear when and why a manager might need to tell someone else such as HR if it involves a person taking time off work.
• Keep checking in – even if your employee is off work, make sure that you have a reasonable amount of contact with them to prevent isolation. Make sure that you agree with the employee when, how frequently and how contact will be maintained and what the expectations of the employee are. This should avoid the employee from feeling harassed or chased by their manager but still ensure that the manager can expect a level of cooperation and updates from the employee. 
• Reasonable adjustments – even if the employee is not disabled, employers should still talk with them to make adjustments that might help. Examples include flexible hours, more rest breaks, training and mentoring. Make sure that you review these regularly and support other members of the team.
• Make an action plan – try to make an action plan with the employee to include actions to achieve a solution to the problem and the dates by which the actions should be achieved and reviewed.

However, much like most illnesses, prevention is key. Employers should make sure that preventing work-related stress in particular is a high priority for managers and staff. Prevention strategies include:

• having a clear policy on mental health and stress;
• risk assessments and employee surveys;
• training for managers;
• having a safe space to raise concerns;
• promoting work-life balance and
• providing employees with access to support.

For more information, visit the ACAS website to view the resources on supporting mental health at work and managing work-related stress.