UK needs a national mental health strategy, urges OSH Alliance

  • Safe Working Practices
Peninsula Group Limited - Someone conducting mental health first aid training to a group of managers

Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team

(Last updated )

A new white paper by a group of UK safety industry bodies calls for a national workplace mental health strategy to tackle rising levels of poor mental health.

Prioritising mental health in the workplace, which is joint-published by the The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Stakeholder Alliance, calls on the UK government and policy-makers to take action.

The white paper recommends they develop a national workplace mental health strategy which recognises the role of the workplace, invests in cross-government department working, pursues evidence-based policies and practices, and establishes reporting and monitoring systems.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics for 2022/23 estimate 875,000 people in the UK suffer from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This equates to 17 million working days lost, and £750 billion lost in productivity.

Government action, the Alliance suggest, should offer support, information, awareness and skills to all businesses, including micro-SMEs, to protect and promote positive mental health. They emphasise a strong focus on preventing mental ill-health, such as through psychosocial risk management, job design, guidance on violence, harassment and discrimination.

Employers must play a key role, according to the white paper. They can support better mental health by committing to protecting and promoting mental health, and embedding these principles into organisational strategy.

A 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) identified heavy workloads as by far the most common cause of stress-related absence, followed by management style. Employee Assistance Programmes and flexible working are offered as the top two positve actions to help manage mental health at work.

By 2030, the OSH Alliance expects these combined actions to significantly reduce the burden of work-related mental ill health, which is currently estimated by Deloitte to cost the economy £51 billion a year.

John Gill, chair of the OSH Alliance, said:

“The OSH Alliance was formed to harness the collective capability and influence of its members to support and enhance initiatives to improve the safety and health of workers through effective risk mitigation.

“This white paper signals the OSH Alliance’s intention to add its weight to that of others in pursuit of a sustained reduction in the incidence of mental health issues in the workplace and the personal and collateral damage they cause.”

The OSH Alliance is composed of nine leading organisations: Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH); the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS); British Safety Council (BSC); the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF); the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH); the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF); the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM); the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH); and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

Visit BrAInbox today where you can find answers to questions like What is health and safety documentation?

Related articles

  • Blog

    Ask Gavin: How can I prevent food contamination in my workplace?

    This anonymous employer was worried about food contamination risks in their workplace. So they asked Gavin Scarr Hall, Peninsula’s Director of Health & Safety, for expert advice.

    Gavin Scarr-Hall - Director of Health & Safety at Peninsula
    Gavin Scarr HallDirector of Health and Safety
    • Food Safety
  • Blog

    Supporting financial wellbeing

    Supporting employee wellbeing should be a focal point of all businesses, and not just where it has been impacted by work. Employees may require support for a wide variety of reasons, some more obvious than others. These could include mental health issues, financial worries, addiction, divorce, fertility issues, menopause, domestic abuse, health concerns, family problems, and many more. Whilst the law may influence how employees are supported with some of these areas, for others, it is down to the individual business.

    Peninsula Logo
    Peninsula TeamPeninsula Team
    • Occupational Health and Wellbeing
  • Blog

    Ask Gavin: Is asbestos in my building? Help!

    This anonymous employer was worried about asbestos risks in a building their staff were refurbishing. So they asked Gavin Scarr Hall, Peninsula’s Director of Health & Safety, for expert advice.

    Gavin Scarr-Hall - Director of Health & Safety at Peninsula
    Gavin Scarr HallDirector of Health and Safety
    • Safe Working Practices

Try Brainbox for free today

When AI meets 40 years of Peninsula expertise... you get instant, expert answers to your HR and health & safety questions

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the latest news & tips that matter most to your business in our monthly newsletter.