Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental Health in the Workplace
Anna Denton-Jones
September 19th 2017

78% of employers believe
their staff are comfortable
having mental health
discussions at work
4% of those that have
experienced depression and 5% of
those that have experienced
anxiety feel that they’re able to…

navigating employment law
• Are we making it worse?
 Continual change in the workplace
 Job sizes
 Never ending email pressure
 The reactions we have to conditions

Chris O’Sullivan, Mental Health
Foundation
“Mental health is something we all have.
Workplaces that challenge us, support and
develop our sense of purpose, and support
us when things are hard can play a
massive role in protecting and building our
mental health. A mentally healthy
workplace can be built on the back of good
basic line management relationships, clear
HR policy and engagement of staff in
decision making. Prevention is key - we
need to enable everyone to flourish, those
in distress to access help quickly, and
those who have recovered from mental
health problems to stay well and enjoy
successful careers”

1. Talk about it

2. Risk assess for it
• B&H cases
• Alcohol and drugs related disciplinaries
• Dramatic changes
• When suspending

3. Management training
• Mental Health First Aid or similar
• How to do a return to work interview

4. Review your return to work
forms
• You are going to have to do this anyway: GDPR
• Use opportunity to improve them when
discussing MH issues

Janine doesn’t seem her usual self, according to Sally.
Normally she is quite outgoing and one of the better
sales people but lately she’s been distracted and
irritable, snapping at anyone in the team who asks for
help and generally being quite moody. As it’s the end of
the period, there is normally a team celebration lunch
but she’s declined the invite saying she doesn’t want to
come along.
Coach Sally on how to address this with Janine.
What things will you say and do? What things will you
try and avoid doing and why?

Mike has been off sick for the last 3 weeks. His GP’s note
referred to having had an anxiety episode.
Laura is going to have a return to work discussion with
Mike – what will you discuss her doing or not doing?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF
SOMEONE HAD A PANIC ATTACK IN
WORK?

Hywel can be quite volatile in work. For example, one day he pulled his
telephone cable clean out of the socket because it wouldn’t stop ringing. He
works in IT and is always described by everyone else as a bit ‘odd’.
You get a call from Claire a co-worker in IT who is really concerned about his
behaviour this morning. He is mumbling and talking to himself. He is agitated
and keeps going to the blinds at the window and checking between them. He is
pacing around and when she’s asked him if he could sit down at his desk he’s
reacted badly and shouted at her and carried on.
When you get to the room, Hywel is sitting under the desk in the foot well as if
he is hiding. He is visibly agitated and talking to himself.
How are you going to handle the situation? What things will you say and do?
What things will you try and avoid doing and why?

WHEN IS A MENTAL HEALTH
CONDITION A DISABILITY?

Definition of a “disability”?
“a mental impairment which has a
substantial or long-term adverse
effect on the person’s ability to
carry out normal day to day
activities”

What is a disability?
• Substantial adverse effect on normal day to day activities
 Mobility
 Physical co-ordination
 Continence
 Ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
 Speech, hearing, eyesight (excluding defects
correctable by spectacles/contacts)
 Memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
 Perception of the risk of physical danger

Long-term
Has lasted for or is likely to last for 12 months
or the rest of the person’s life

Is ‘depression’ a disability?
• Generally stress and depression are not a disability
eg:- Morgan vs Staffordshire University 2002
• Clinical depression and PTSD can be a disability eg:-
Ward v Marvell 1997 and Delamaine v Abbey
National 1997

Substantial effect
• Can be a cumulative effect of more than one
impairment
• Can be the way normal day to day activities are
carried out

What is protected?
Someone with a disability or a past disability is
protected from 6 types of discrimination

1. Direct Discrimination
“But for my disability I would not have been
treated this way”
Also applies to ‘associative’ discrimination
e.g.:- carers

2. Indirect discrimination
Same applies to everyone but has a particular
disadvantage on someone with e.g.:- an anxiety
disorder

3. Harassment
Unwanted conduct relating to disability which
has the purpose or effect of violating dignity or
creating hostile, degrading or humiliating or
offensive environment.

4. Duty to make reasonable
adjustments
Where a provision, criteria or practice or a physical
feature of the premises places a disabled person at a
substantial disadvantage in comparison with a non-
disabled person, the employer is required to make
reasonable adjustments to remove that substantial
disadvantage. The employer needs to know or be
reasonably expected to know about the disability
before this duty kicks in.

5. Discrimination arising from
a disability
A person discriminates against a disabled person if they
treat the disabled person unfavourably because of
something arising in consequence of the disability and
the treatment cannot be shown to be a proportionate
means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Am I expected to accept
more absence?
Case law suggests that if somebody has a
disability that is likely to involve a ‘greater than
normal’ absence level, you probably need to
adjust your triggers for when you would
normally take action.

Knowledge of a disability
Employers need to take care as it is not just
what the employee tells them directly – they are
expected to know what their Occupational
Health Advisers know and to interpret the facts
before them.

6. Victimisation
Where the employee has raised a grievance or
claimed or assisted another in doing so and is
subjected to detrimental treatment as a result,
this is victimisation for the purposes of the
Equality Act.

Aggressive behaviours
You are not expected to put up with
unacceptable behaviours come what may e.g.:-
Aitken v Police Commissioner for
the Metropolis 2011

Hot Spots
• A known disabled employee’s needs change during their
employment
• An employee becomes disabled during the course of their
employment and makes requests for adjustments to be made
• This could be hidden i.e. the requests for a change in working
hours may not be readily apparent.
• An employee with persistent short-term absence – could it be
for reasons connected to a disability?
• Employee with long-term absence – could it be for reasons of
a disability?
• A change in performance or demeanour – could it be for
reasons of a disability?

Burden of proof in disability cases
• Employee argues set of facts which they say
suggests discrimination took place
• You have to show that disability discrimination
was not the reason for any treatment they
received or justify it
• Paper-trail is how you do this

Robin is a sales person in an engineering business. He is one of two
people – they each cover a different territory. His job involves
visiting customers, producing quotes in conjunction with the
Technical team and following up on them. There has been a lot of
change with a new Managing Director requiring a more focussed
approach. He has been signed off work with a sick note for 2 weeks
that refers to ‘stress caused by work’. Another 4 week note has been
received. You are going to do a home visit to discuss the absence
with him.
What things would you want to discuss?

When a condition is disclosed
• Avoid making assumptions
• Confidentiality
• Develop a Wellness Recovery Action Plan
 Encourage dialogue
 Make adjustments
• Agree how contact will work when absence occurs

Get medical advice
• GP, Fit for Work, Specialist, Occupational
Health
• Employee consent required under the Access
to Medical Reports Act 1988 where the medic
is responsible for the clinical care of the
employee
• The quality of the reports you get back will
reflect the quality of information you provide

WHAT OTHER STEPS CAN
EMPLOYER’S TAKE?

Biggest most important
contribution an employer can make
• Talk about mental health in the workplace
 Join Time for Change
 Business in the Community initiatives
• Celebrate ‘milestone’ days
 Self awareness and training
 Encourage people to ask for help
• Leadership from the top
• Training for line managers

General
• Make sure staff take rest breaks and holidays
• Food and drink options
• Flexible working patterns
• Support staff through changes
• Mindfulness
• Counselling and employee assistance programmes –
more than 6 weeks of support?

Focus on strategies to
make it work
• Not ‘how can we get rid of this employee’?
• Proactive in identifying problems
• Reasonable adjustments and alternative
employment

Sources of further information
• www.mentalhealth.org.uk
• www.mind.org.uk
• www.callhelpline.org.uk
• www.journeys.online.org.uk
• www.depressionalliance.org
• www.thecalmzone.net
• www.gofal.org.uk
• www.rethink.org

Sources of further information
• www.nomorepanic.co.uk
• www.nopanic.org.uk
• www.ocdaction.org.uk
• www.anxietycare.org.uk
• www.anxietyalliance.org.uk
• www.Dan247.org.uk
• www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
• www.talktofrank.com
• www.mhfa-wales.org

Contact us:
adenton@refreshinglawltd.co.uk
Phone 02920 533393 or 077977 545480
www.refreshinglawltd.co.uk

Mental Health in the Workplace

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