The Government’s Department of Health advises that one in four of us will experience mental ill health at some point in our lives.

To coincide with the recent World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme being ‘mental health in the workplace’, Acas, the Government advisory and conciliation service, has published a new guidance booklet.

Promoting Positive Mental Health in the Workplace (pdf) helps managers understand how they can best support their staff when/should they suffer from mental ill-health.

They have also published two smaller online guides:

• Dealing with Stress in the Workplace
• Managing Staff Experiencing Mental Ill Health

Collectively this guidance provides tips for employers on how to identify, mitigate and adapt to mental health issues within the workplace.

From an employment law perspective, such guidance can only be helpful for our employer clients.

It is important to bear in mind that some mental health problems may meet the definition of 'disability' in the Equality Act 2010. This is if they amount to a mental impairment that has a substantial, adverse, and long-term impact on the person’s ability to carry out their day-to-day tasks.

Where this definition is met, the person will be protected from discrimination and harassment. They will also be entitled to reasonable adjustments that will help and support them in their job or work.

If you require help with any queries or concerns regarding an employee’s mental health, please get in touch with a member of our Employment Law team.