- within Employment and HR topic(s)
- with Senior Company Executives, HR and Finance and Tax Executives
- in European Union
- in European Union
- in European Union
- with readers working within the Insurance and Technology industries
Today, I spoke at the Westminster Employment Forum about the broad theme of mental health in the workplace. With almost two decades of practical experience in this space as a practising litigator, you can imagine that I had quite a bit to say. The kicker? My initial address was limited to just five minutes. On the upside, this really makes one focus on the most important things that need to be said. I came up with five main points – one for each minute.
This is an extremely broad brush look at what I think are the fundamental issues around mental health at work and challenges for the workplace more broadly at this time and in the near future. I should add at this juncture that this is commentary. I do not have all the answers!
In no particular order...
We are not talking about the Employment Rights Bill.
There is little to say about the immediate impact of the Employment Rights Bill because, although it is well on its way to becoming an Act, it will take secondary regulations and no fewer than nine Government consultations to bring most of its key provisions into force. This means that impact in the workplace is unlikely to really be felt for up to two years. More on this later.
Where is all the litigation?
Based on the enquiries we manage from prospective and future clients, the bulk of the disability discrimination work we deal with sits in three broad categories:
- Neurodivergence. There has been a huge increase in claims around ADHD, autism, and similar conditions. We live in the age of overdiagnosis, and this is having a major impact. Also, the fact that many people are being diagnosed later in life, and think it is safe to tell their employers about their neurodiversity. It isn't necessarily so! There is stigma.
- Reasonable adjustments failures make up the bulk of disability claims. Unfortunately, there is no interlocutory process and bringing a claim means going all the way to a full merits in the Employment Tribunals. Employers often fall here not only by refusing to consider adjustments but also by delaying responding to requests for adjustments, which impacts the viability of the employment relationship.
- People returning to work following illness are often pushed out in not-so-subtle ways. You take time off for cancer treatment, and when you return, you know that the atmosphere has changed: there is evasion, exclusion, a failure to reintegrate. This happens all too often.
The major issue is making work work!
The outcome of Sir Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working
Review is due for publication in November. Watch this space. It
will outline the key concerns for businesses and individuals around
mental health at work. One of the issues it will flag is that GPs
are not qualified to assess whether individuals are fit to work
while they are ill. We wait to see what the proposals will be here
because we know the Fit Note system is not working: more than 90%
of ill people are signed off as unfit to work.
I highlighted some alarming data around how work is not
working:
- Long-term sickness is at an all-time high, with more than 5,000 new claims every day. This is double the pre-COVID rate.
- Suicide rates among young people are 50% higher than they were 10 years ago.
- The LawCare Life in the Law survey reveals that as many as 60% of professionals in law are suffering from mental health issues, with 78% persistently working long hours and almost a third thinking of leaving the profession.
Managing conflict: it's all wrong
Grievances are a terrible way of resolving issues. They drive the parties into entrenched positions, they create work and stress, and they rarely resolve anything in a satisfactory way. They are not fit for purpose. More use should be made of workplace mediation.
Using disciplinary policies and rules around disability in the workplace is a terrible idea. Again, they add stress and anxiety for people who are already stressed and anxious. This is not conducive to good employment relations.
The clash of generations and beliefs
The Times calls Generation Z the most anxious and outspoken generation we have ever had in the workplace. Gen Z expect their managers to be their support, their agony aunt, their mentor. Managers need to be equipped for this, and rarely are. Nor are they given adequate time to manage when they have targets to meet in their own work. Gen Z is not going to stay in jobs where they are not supported. The old guard is going to have to adapt, too.
We have seen the havoc that the clash of beliefs can bring to a workplace in the gender critical wars. This is just the start of issues around conflicting beliefs, the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Whether the clash is ideological, political, or religious, employers are going to have to get on top of managing this conflict to avoid it causing mental health issues and absence at work.
Prevention is better than cure...
My parting words to the panel were that prevention is better than cure. It seems to me that many workplaces focus on what to do when someone has become ill as a result of workplace stressors or otherwise. I wish there was more focus on the work-related issues which cause mental ill health problems: long hours, overwork, lack of rest, the expectation of being online 24/7, lack of support, lack of agency, the list goes on.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
