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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to promote a mentally healthy workplace at {{org_field_name}} by providing a supportive environment that protects, enhances, and maintains the mental health and well-being of all employees. Mental health is essential for personal well-being, team productivity, and ensuring the highest quality of care for the people we support.

This policy ensures that:

• Staff feel valued, supported, and empowered to discuss mental health concerns without fear of stigma.
• A proactive and preventative approach is taken to promote mental well-being.
• Mental health is managed with the same level of importance as physical health.
• Clear procedures exist for recognising, responding to, and supporting staff experiencing mental health challenges.
• The organisation meets CQC regulations, Health and Safety at Work legislation, and employment law regarding staff well-being.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All employees, including full-time, part-time, agency, and voluntary workers.
• Line managers and senior leaders, responsible for implementing well-being initiatives.
• Occupational health professionals, external support services, and HR teams.
• The management team, ensuring that policies, risk assessments, and support mechanisms are in place.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

{{org_field_name}} will manage workplace mental health and well-being in accordance with applicable health and safety, equality, employment, data protection and adult social care regulatory requirements.

The principal legal and regulatory requirements relevant to this policy include:

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 – {{org_field_name}}, as an employer, must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees. This includes taking reasonably practicable steps to manage risks to health arising from work-related stress where such risks are identified.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – {{org_field_name}} must undertake suitable and sufficient assessments of risks to the health and safety of employees arising from their work, including risks associated with work-related stress where applicable, and must implement appropriate preventive and protective measures. Risk assessments must be reviewed where there is reason to suspect that they are no longer valid or where there has been a significant change in the matters to which they relate.
• Equality Act 2010 – Mental health conditions may amount to a disability for the purposes of the Act. {{org_field_name}} must not unlawfully discriminate against an employee or worker because of disability and must comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments where the statutory duty applies. The duty may arise where {{org_field_name}} knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the person is disabled and is placed at a substantial disadvantage because of their disability.
• Working Time Regulations 1998 – {{org_field_name}} will comply with applicable statutory requirements concerning working time, rest breaks, daily and weekly rest, night work and annual leave. Where an exception to normal rest requirements applies because continuity of service or shift-working arrangements make normal rest impracticable, compensatory rest will be provided where required by law.
• Employment Rights Act 1996 and legislation governing statutory flexible working requests – Employees have the statutory right to request flexible working from the first day of employment. Statutory requests will be considered and determined in accordance with the applicable legal requirements and the organisation’s flexible working procedure. A statutory flexible working request is separate from the duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 – Information concerning an individual’s physical or mental health constitutes special category personal data and must be processed lawfully, fairly, transparently, securely and only to the extent necessary for a specified purpose. {{org_field_name}} will identify and document an appropriate lawful basis and applicable special category condition before processing employee health information and will comply with any additional Data Protection Act 2018 requirements that apply.

As a provider of regulated adult social care, {{org_field_name}} will also comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, as amended, including where relevant to workforce mental health and well-being:

• Regulation 12 – Safe Care and Treatment: care and treatment must be provided safely. Where staffing pressures, fatigue, workplace stress or other workforce factors create risks to the safety of people using the service, those risks must be identified and appropriately managed.
• Regulation 17 – Good Governance: effective systems and processes must be established and operated to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services and to assess, monitor and mitigate relevant risks. Records required in relation to persons employed and the management of the regulated activity must be accurate, appropriate, secure and managed in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
• Regulation 18 – Staffing: sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff must be deployed. Employees providing the regulated activity must receive such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as is necessary to enable them to perform the duties for which they are employed.
• Regulation 19 – Fit and Proper Persons Employed: employees undertaking regulated activities must have the necessary qualifications, competence, skills and experience and must, by reason of their health and after reasonable adjustments have been made, be capable of properly performing the tasks intrinsic to the work for which they are employed.

{{org_field_name}} will also have regard to the Care Quality Commission’s current assessment framework, including the requirements and expectations relating to Safe and Effective Staffing and Workforce Wellbeing and Enablement, so that workforce arrangements enable staff to deliver safe, effective and person-centred care.

4. Mental Health and Well-being Management at Work

4.1. Promoting a Positive Mental Health Culture

{{org_field_name}} is committed to fostering a mentally healthy workplace by:

• Encouraging open discussions about mental health without stigma.
• Recognising that mental health is as important as physical health.
• Providing mental health awareness training for all staff.
• Encouraging a work-life balance to reduce stress and burnout.
• Creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment where staff feel valued.

4.2. Identifying and Preventing Workplace Stress

{{org_field_name}} recognises work-related stress as a health and safety risk that must be managed in the same systematic manner as other workplace health and safety risks.

Suitable and sufficient risk assessments will be undertaken to identify reasonably foreseeable causes of work-related stress and to determine the measures required to prevent or control those risks. Assessment will take account, where relevant, of:

• workload and the demands placed upon staff;
• staffing levels, staffing deployment and skill mix;
• working hours, shift patterns, night work, rest and fatigue;
• the level of control employees have over their work;
• the support available from managers and colleagues;
• working relationships, including bullying, harassment, discrimination or conflict;
• clarity of employees’ roles and responsibilities;
• organisational or workplace change;
• lone working or professional isolation;
• exposure to death, dying, distress, safeguarding incidents, violence, abuse, trauma or other emotionally demanding aspects of care work; and
• any other workplace factor capable of adversely affecting employees’ health, safety or ability to provide safe care.

Where risks are identified, {{org_field_name}} will take reasonably practicable steps to eliminate the risk or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, reduce and control it. Measures may include changes to workload, staffing arrangements, work organisation, supervision, working practices or other appropriate controls.

Relevant employees will be consulted, where appropriate, when assessing work-related stress risks and identifying suitable control measures.

Stress risk assessments and associated control measures will be reviewed where there is reason to believe that an assessment is no longer valid, following a significant change affecting the assessment, or where incidents, sickness absence patterns, employee concerns or other information indicate that existing controls may not be effective.

Where an individual employee may be at particular risk, {{org_field_name}} will consider whether an individual risk assessment or other appropriate assessment is required and will consider any duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

4.3. Early Identification of Mental Health Concerns

Managers should remain alert to changes that may indicate that an employee requires support or that workplace risks require further assessment. These may include:

• significant or repeated changes in attendance or punctuality;
• changes in work performance or behaviour;
• withdrawal or changes in interaction with colleagues;
• signs of fatigue, distress or difficulty coping with work demands;
• expressions of anxiety, low mood, distress or feeling overwhelmed; or
• information provided directly by the employee about their mental health or the effect of work upon their health.

These signs must not be treated as establishing that an employee has a particular mental health condition. Managers must not attempt to diagnose a mental health condition.

Where a concern arises, the manager should arrange a private and supportive discussion with the employee, where appropriate. The purpose of the discussion will be to understand any relevant workplace concerns, determine whether immediate support or risk-control measures are required and identify whether further advice should be sought.

Managers must:

• treat information concerning an employee’s mental health sensitively and in accordance with confidentiality and data protection requirements;
• obtain and record only information that is necessary and relevant for a legitimate employment, health and safety or legal purpose;
• consider whether work-related risks need to be assessed or existing risk assessments reviewed;
• consider whether occupational health or other competent professional advice is appropriate;
• make the employee aware of appropriate sources of support that are actually available to them; and
• consider whether the employee may be disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and whether the duty to make reasonable adjustments has arisen.

Where {{org_field_name}} knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that an employee is disabled and is placed at a substantial disadvantage in circumstances giving rise to the statutory duty, reasonable steps must be taken to remove or reduce that disadvantage.

4.4. Providing Support for Employees with Mental Health Concerns

Employees who disclose mental health concerns will be treated with dignity, respect and without unlawful discrimination.

{{org_field_name}} will discuss with the employee what workplace support may be appropriate, taking account of the individual’s circumstances, the requirements of their role, the needs and safety of people using the service and the organisation’s legal obligations.

Where applicable, support may include:

• occupational health advice or another appropriate professional assessment;
• agreed workplace adjustments;
• temporary or permanent changes to working arrangements where reasonable and appropriate;
• an agreed well-being or workplace support plan;
• appropriate arrangements for sickness absence and return to work; and
• a phased return to work where this is appropriate to the individual’s circumstances.

Where an employee has a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 and the statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments applies, {{org_field_name}} will take such reasonable steps as are required to remove or reduce the substantial disadvantage experienced by the employee. Adjustments will be considered individually and may include changes to working hours, shift patterns, duties, supervision arrangements, communication methods, working environment, equipment or other working arrangements where reasonable.

If a proposed adjustment cannot reasonably be made, the employee will be informed of this and alternative reasonable adjustments will be considered where available.

Information concerning an employee’s mental health will be treated as confidential health information. It will only be collected, used, recorded or disclosed where there is an appropriate and lawful reason to do so. Access will be restricted to people who require the information for the relevant purpose.

Confidentiality is not absolute. Information may be disclosed without the employee’s consent where disclosure is required or permitted by law or where another lawful basis for the disclosure applies. Any disclosure will be limited to information that is necessary and proportionate in the circumstances.

Employee health information will be processed as special category personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and {{org_field_name}}’s data protection requirements.

4.5. Role of Line Managers in Mental Well-being

Line managers play a critical role in supporting staff by:

• Holding regular one-to-one meetings to check on staff well-being.
• Encouraging staff to raise concerns early without fear of judgment.
• Ensuring that all team members receive training on workplace mental health.
• Recognising when external support (e.g., GP, counsellors) may be required.
• Adapting workloads where necessary to reduce stress.

4.6. Work-Life Balance, Working Time, Flexible Working and Reasonable Adjustments

{{org_field_name}} will organise work and staffing arrangements so far as reasonably practicable to protect employees’ health and safety while ensuring that sufficient suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff are available to meet the needs of people using the service.

Employees will receive applicable rest periods and working-time protections in accordance with the Working Time Regulations 1998. Subject to the statutory provisions and any applicable exceptions, this includes relevant rights to rest breaks during the working day, daily rest and weekly rest.

Where normal rest requirements cannot apply because a statutory exception is engaged, including where applicable because continuity of service or shift-working arrangements make normal rest impracticable, {{org_field_name}} will provide compensatory rest or other protection as required by law.

Staffing and rota arrangements will be monitored so that excessive working hours, inadequate rest, fatigue or recurring inability to take appropriate breaks do not create unacceptable risks to employees or to people using the service.

All employees have the statutory right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. Statutory flexible working requests will be considered in accordance with current employment legislation and {{org_field_name}}’s flexible working procedure. A request will be discussed and determined within the statutory timescale unless a lawful extension is agreed. Where a request is refused, the decision must be based upon one or more of the permitted statutory business grounds.

The statutory right to request flexible working must not be confused with the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments. Where an employee is disabled and the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies, {{org_field_name}} must consider and implement reasonable steps to prevent or reduce the substantial disadvantage experienced by that employee. A reasonable adjustment must not be rejected merely because the employee could instead make a statutory flexible working request.

Reasonable adjustments may, depending upon the individual circumstances, include:

• adjustments to starting or finishing times;
• changes to shift patterns;
• additional or differently timed breaks;
• temporary or permanent adjustments to particular duties;
• changes to supervision or communication arrangements;
• a phased return following sickness absence; or
• another reasonable change that removes or reduces a disability-related disadvantage.

Any adjustment affecting staffing arrangements must be implemented in a way that continues to meet CQC requirements for safe and effective staffing and the assessed needs and safety of people using the service.

4.7. Staff Training and Awareness

All staff must receive mental health awareness training, covering:

• Understanding common mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, PTSD).
• Recognising signs of stress and burnout.
• How to support colleagues experiencing mental health issues.
• Using positive coping strategies and self-care.
• Understanding confidentiality and when to escalate concerns.

Managers must also receive specialist training on:

• Conducting stress risk assessments.
• Having sensitive conversations about mental health.
• Making reasonable adjustments for mental health conditions.
• Supporting staff through bereavement and trauma.

4.8. Mental Health Support Services Available

{{org_field_name}} provides access to:

• Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), offering confidential counselling.
• Occupational health services, assessing work-related mental health risks.
• Mental health first aiders, trained to support staff in distress.
• Signposting to NHS mental health services if additional support is needed.
• Support groups and peer mentoring, promoting a culture of well-being.

5. Monitoring and Compliance

{{org_field_name}} will monitor implementation of this policy and take appropriate action where evidence indicates that workplace mental health risks, staffing arrangements or support systems are not being managed effectively.

Monitoring may include:

• reviewing sickness absence and work-related stress information;
• reviewing accidents, incidents, complaints or safeguarding concerns where staff fatigue, stress, workload or staffing arrangements may have contributed;
• monitoring staffing levels, workload, working hours and relevant workforce indicators;
• reviewing feedback obtained from employees, including information obtained through staff surveys where these are undertaken;
• monitoring the effectiveness of identified stress risk controls and reasonable adjustments; and
• reviewing supervision, appraisal, training and workforce-support arrangements where these are relevant to employees’ ability to carry out their duties safely and effectively.

Information about an employee’s mental or physical health must not be routinely recorded merely because a discussion has taken place. Managers must record only information that is necessary, relevant and proportionate for an identified employment, legal, health and safety or regulatory purpose.

Where employee health information is recorded, {{org_field_name}} must:

• identify an appropriate lawful basis for processing under Article 6 of the UK GDPR;
• identify an appropriate special category condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and, where required, the relevant condition under Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018;
• ensure that only information necessary for the identified purpose is recorded;
• restrict access to authorised persons with a legitimate need to access the information;
• keep records accurate and secure;
• retain information only for as long as necessary in accordance with the organisation’s retention arrangements and applicable legal requirements; and
• ensure that any disclosure of health information is lawful, necessary and proportionate.

Records required in relation to persons employed and the management of the regulated activity will be maintained securely in accordance with Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and applicable data protection legislation.

The Registered Manager or other designated responsible person will ensure that identified concerns relating to staff wellbeing, work-related stress, fatigue, staffing or employee capability that could affect the safety or quality of care are acted upon appropriately and that any required risk-control measures are implemented and reviewed.

6. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside the following policies and procedures, where applicable:

• CH18 – Risk Management and Assessment Policy.
• CH27 – Staff Supervision, Training, and Development Policy.
• CH34 – Confidentiality and Data Protection (GDPR) Policy.
• CH16 – Health and Safety at Work Policy.
• Sickness Absence and Return to Work Policy
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

7. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner if legislative updates or staff feedback indicate improvements are needed.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.