{{org_field_logo}}

{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Staff Wellbeing and Mental Health Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this Staff Wellbeing and Mental Health Policy is to affirm {{org_field_name}}’s commitment to protecting and promoting the mental health, wellbeing and safety of temporary workers and office-based staff. Working in health and social care environments, particularly in temporary and agency roles, may involve demanding working conditions, emotional pressures, shift work, lone working and exposure to distressing situations.

This policy sets out the arrangements that {{org_field_name}} has established to identify and manage work-related risks to mental and physical health, support workers who experience mental-health difficulties, consider reasonable adjustments where the legal duty applies, and ensure that temporary workers receive relevant information about known health and safety risks associated with assignments.

This policy also sets out how mental-health and wellbeing information will be handled confidentially and in accordance with applicable data-protection law.

This policy is operated in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Equality Act 2010, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All temporary workers employed by {{org_field_name}}, including registered nurses, healthcare assistants, and support staff working under zero-hours or casual contracts
• All office-based staff and directors of {{org_field_name}}
• All settings in which temporary workers are placed, including care homes, nursing homes, residential services, and other healthcare environments
• All stages of employment, including recruitment, placement, supervision, performance management, and exit processes

3. Related Policies

• Supervision and Appraisal Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy
• Incident Reporting and Management Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Safeguarding Adults and Children Policy
• Complaints Policy

4. Legal Framework

This policy is underpinned by the following legislation, as amended from time to time:

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 – requires employers, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – requires employers to carry out suitable and sufficient assessments of risks to the health and safety of employees and relevant persons affected by the undertaking, including risks arising from work-related stress where applicable, and to implement appropriate preventive and protective measures.
• Equality Act 2010 – prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and imposes a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people where the statutory requirements for that duty are met. A mental-health condition may amount to a disability where the statutory definition is satisfied.
• Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 – requires {{org_field_name}}, before supplying a work-seeker to a hirer, to obtain prescribed information about the assignment, including any known health and safety risks and the steps taken by the hirer to prevent or control those risks, and to provide the required assignment information to the work-seeker.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018, as amended – regulate the collection, use, storage, sharing and other processing of personal data. Information concerning a person’s physical or mental health is special-category personal data and is subject to additional legal safeguards.

5. Statement of Commitment

{{org_field_name}} is committed to:

• Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all staff
• Promoting a culture of openness, inclusivity, and mutual support
• Encouraging work-life balance, stress management, and resilience
• Addressing workplace stressors and risks to mental health proactively
• Ensuring that managers and directors are equipped to recognise and respond appropriately to mental health concerns
• Ensuring temporary workers are supported even when working in external client environments where the agency has limited direct control

6. Key Principles

Temporary workers and staff can expect:

• To be treated with dignity and respect
• To have access to mental health support, guidance, and signposting
• To be able to raise wellbeing concerns without fear of stigma or discrimination
• To receive appropriate adjustments when needed
• To work within a positive organisational culture that values wellbeing

7. Identifying and Managing Risks to Wellbeing

{{org_field_name}} recognises that temporary and agency work may expose workers to factors capable of affecting their mental or physical health, including:

• excessive or unpredictable workloads;
• emotional demands, including exposure to death, distress, abuse or challenging behaviour;
• role uncertainty or insufficient information about an assignment;
• shift work, night work and irregular working hours;
• fatigue;
• lone or isolated working;
• inadequate support;
• unfamiliar working environments; and
• exposure to traumatic or distressing incidents.

{{org_field_name}} will carry out suitable and sufficient assessments of work-related risks for which it is responsible, including risks of work-related stress and other risks that may adversely affect mental or physical health. Appropriate preventive and protective measures will be identified and implemented following the assessment.

Where {{org_field_name}} employs five or more employees, the significant findings of risk assessments and any group of employees identified as being especially at risk will be recorded as required by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Risk assessments will be reviewed where there is reason to suspect that an assessment is no longer valid or where there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates. Necessary amendments will be made following the review.

Before supplying a temporary worker to a client organisation, {{org_field_name}} will obtain sufficient information from the client about the assignment, including:

• the nature and location of the work;
• the hours of work;
• any health and safety risks known to the client; and
• the steps taken by the client to prevent or control those risks.

Relevant health and safety information obtained from the client will be provided to the temporary worker before the assignment in accordance with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.

{{org_field_name}} will liaise with client organisations as necessary to clarify responsibilities for managing workplace risks and will not assume that responsibility for the health and safety of temporary workers rests exclusively with the client organisation.

Temporary workers will be informed of how and to whom they may report health, safety and wellbeing concerns, and concerns raised will be considered promptly. Where necessary, {{org_field_name}} will liaise with the client organisation and take appropriate action to protect the worker.

8. Temporary Workers’ Responsibilities

Temporary workers must:

• Take responsibility for their own wellbeing as far as reasonably possible
• Seek help or advice if experiencing stress, burnout, or mental health challenges
• Engage fully with training and supervision related to wellbeing and resilience
• Treat colleagues, clients, and service users respectfully
• Report concerns about the wellbeing of colleagues, including safeguarding concerns, following the appropriate procedures

9. Support Provided by {{org_field_name}}

9.1 Wellbeing Support

{{org_field_name}} will:

• Provide access to confidential advice and guidance from the director or nominated office staff
• Signpost staff to external mental health services, such as NHS services, helplines, and counselling providers
• Offer informal support through one-to-one check-ins, especially after distressing incidents
• Promote awareness of mental health and wellbeing through training, supervision, and communications

9.2 Training

Temporary workers will receive:

• Induction training which includes wellbeing and self-care
• Ongoing training on stress management, resilience, and recognising mental health challenges in themselves and others
• Additional training when returning to work after long-term sickness absence related to mental health

9.3 Supervision and Appraisal

Supervision and appraisal will:

• Address mental health and wellbeing as part of routine discussions
• Create space for temporary workers to raise concerns confidentially
• Support individuals to access help or reasonable adjustments where needed
• Be carried out regularly as specified in the Supervision and Appraisal Policy

9.4 Reasonable Adjustments

{{org_field_name}} will comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 where that duty applies.

A worker will not be required to use particular terminology or make a formal declaration of disability before a potential need for reasonable adjustments is considered. Where {{org_field_name}} knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that a worker is disabled and the statutory requirements for the reasonable-adjustments duty are met, appropriate reasonable adjustments will be considered.

Depending on the individual circumstances and the extent of {{org_field_name}}’s control, reasonable adjustments may include changes to working arrangements, assignment arrangements, hours, communication methods, working practices, equipment or other measures which it is reasonable for {{org_field_name}} to take.

Where an adjustment relates to working arrangements controlled by a client organisation, {{org_field_name}} will liaise appropriately with the client organisation while complying with its own legal obligations and the worker’s data-protection rights.

Any reasonable adjustments implemented will be reviewed where appropriate to determine whether they remain necessary and effective.

Workers are encouraged to inform {{org_field_name}} of any disability, health condition or workplace difficulty for which support or an adjustment may be required. However, this does not remove any statutory obligation that applies where {{org_field_name}} otherwise knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, of circumstances giving rise to the duty to make reasonable adjustments.

10. Mental Health First Aid and Crisis Support

Although {{org_field_name}} is a small organisation, the director will:

• Ensure key staff are trained in mental health awareness
• Be available as the first point of contact for temporary workers experiencing immediate mental health distress
• Support temporary workers in accessing emergency or crisis mental health services where needed
• Ensure workers are not left unsupported following exposure to traumatic incidents or distressing situations

Temporary workers should:

• Contact the director if they are struggling to cope while on assignment
• Contact emergency services if they or others are at immediate risk of harm

11. Stigma and Discrimination

{{org_field_name}} will:

• Promote an inclusive culture where mental health is treated equally with physical health
• Challenge stigma and discrimination through training and leadership
• Ensure that temporary workers with mental health conditions are supported and not disadvantaged
• Implement disciplinary measures if discriminatory behaviour towards colleagues or clients based on mental health is identified

12. Return to Work After Mental Health Absence

Temporary workers returning to work after absence related to mental health will:

• Have a return-to-work discussion with the director
• Be offered phased return plans or adjusted duties where appropriate
• Be supported through supervision and ongoing monitoring

Temporary workers are encouraged to communicate any ongoing needs, so appropriate support can be maintained.

13. Confidentiality and Mental Health Information

Information concerning an individual’s physical or mental health is personal data and constitutes special-category personal data for the purposes of applicable data-protection legislation.

{{org_field_name}} will collect, record, use, store, access, disclose and otherwise process mental-health and wellbeing information only where there is a lawful basis for the processing and, where special-category personal data is involved, an applicable special-category condition. Where required, the relevant conditions and safeguards under the Data Protection Act 2018 will also be satisfied.

Mental-health and wellbeing information will:

• be collected only where there is a legitimate and lawful need for it;
• be limited to information that is adequate, relevant and necessary for the purpose for which it is processed;
• be kept accurate where necessary;
• be retained only for as long as necessary in accordance with the organisation’s applicable retention arrangements;
• be protected by appropriate technical and organisational security measures; and
• be accessible only to persons who have an appropriate need and lawful basis to access it.

Information about a worker’s mental health or wellbeing will not be disclosed to a client organisation, colleague or other third party merely because it may be useful or of interest. Any disclosure must have an appropriate lawful basis and, where health information is involved, an applicable condition permitting the processing of special-category personal data.

Information may be shared without the individual’s consent where consent is not the lawful basis being relied upon and the disclosure is otherwise necessary and lawful, including where an applicable legal obligation, safeguarding requirement or vital-interests consideration permits or requires disclosure. Only information necessary for the relevant purpose will be shared.

Where {{org_field_name}} relies on consent or explicit consent as the legal basis or condition for particular processing, that consent must satisfy the requirements of applicable data-protection legislation.

Workers will be provided with applicable privacy information explaining how their personal data is processed and their rights in relation to that processing.

Nothing in this section prevents {{org_field_name}} from making a lawful disclosure where this is necessary to comply with a statutory obligation, protect an individual’s vital interests, address a safeguarding matter or establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

14. Incident Response and Wellbeing

{{org_field_name}} will:

• Provide debriefing and emotional support after serious or critical incidents
• Review the wellbeing impact of any workplace incident on involved staff
• Implement additional support or adjustments where needed following incidents

15. Director’s Responsibilities

As the agency does not have a registered manager, the director will:

• Take overall responsibility for staff wellbeing and mental health support
• Promote wellbeing throughout the organisation
• Ensure that temporary workers are given appropriate training and support
• Respond promptly to wellbeing concerns, complaints, or incidents
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of mental health best practices and legislation
• Integrate wellbeing into quality assurance and risk management processes
• Monitor the effectiveness of this policy through supervision records, feedback, and incident reports

16. Working with Client Organisations

{{org_field_name}} will work with client organisations to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of temporary workers throughout assignments.

Before supplying a temporary worker to a client organisation, {{org_field_name}} will obtain the information required by the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, including information about any health and safety risks known to the client in relation to the work and the steps the client has taken to prevent or control those risks.

{{org_field_name}} will provide the temporary worker with the health and safety information that it is legally required to provide before the assignment.

During an assignment, {{org_field_name}} will maintain appropriate communication with the client organisation where a health, safety or wellbeing issue arises and will seek appropriate information or assurances where necessary to determine whether the worker can continue to be supplied safely.

Where a worker’s personal information, including information concerning their mental health, needs to be disclosed to a client organisation, {{org_field_name}} will disclose information only where the disclosure is lawful, necessary and proportionate. Where health information is disclosed, {{org_field_name}} will ensure that an appropriate lawful basis and special-category processing condition apply. Only the minimum personal information necessary for the particular purpose will be disclosed.

Where consent is relied upon, it must meet the requirements of applicable data-protection law. Nothing in this section prevents information from being disclosed without consent where another lawful basis and applicable special-category condition permits or requires the disclosure.

{{org_field_name}} will:

• liaise with client organisations about risks to temporary workers’ health and safety;
• raise concerns where working conditions, hours, workload, violence, abuse, lone working, fatigue or other circumstances may create a risk to a temporary worker’s health or safety;
• seek appropriate corrective action from the client organisation where necessary;
• support temporary workers who raise legitimate health, safety or wellbeing concerns; and
• cooperate with lawful client investigations and safeguarding processes while complying with confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

17. Continuous Improvement

The director will:

• Review this policy annually or sooner if changes in legislation, national guidance, or agency needs require
• Collect feedback from temporary workers about their experiences related to wellbeing
• Analyse incidents, complaints, and staff feedback to identify areas for improvement
• Integrate findings into supervision, training, and policy development

18. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually by the director of {{org_field_name}} or sooner if needed due to changes in law, guidance, or internal learning. Changes will be communicated clearly to all staff, temporary workers, and client organisations.

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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.