Managing and supporting employees with mental ill health

To support your employees, you should create a workplace culture which is open and inclusive, which displays respect for job seekers and employees who have mental ill health so that they feel comfortable about disclosing any mental health issues.

Methods of supporting your staff with mental ill health

Other ways you could support your staff include:

• Promote awareness of mental health issues amongst employees.
• Put relevant wellbeing and equality policies and procedures in place.
• Ensure line managers have the correct information about the correct practices and procedures so they can help an employee with mental ill health issues stay in employment.
• Ensure there is good communication between line managers and employees.
• Use appraisals or one-to-one meetings to talk about any concerns an employee may have.
• Put reasonable adjustments in place eg changes to the employee's working area or allowing the employee to take time off work for appointments.
• Learn to spot the warning signs of mental ill health eg an increase in unexplained absences, poor performance or withdrawal from social contact.
• Develop greater work/life balance initiatives eg encouraging regular breaks.
• Sign up to the Equality Commission's Mental Health Charter.

Mental health advice videos

The Equality Commission has produced a couple of short videos to help employers and their staff manage and promote positive mental health in the workplace:

• Mental health advice for employers
• Mental health advice for employees

Mental health in the workplace webinar

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) mental health in the workplace webinar will help raise your awareness of mental health, develop your understanding of key issues around mental health and equip you with ways in which you can better manage mental health in the workplace.