The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and various Regulations made under it require employers to safeguard the health, safety, and wellbeing of their staff. Historically, the legislation and people’s general perception was that these duties applied to their physical safety. However, with education, publicity, and increased openness, mental health and psychological safety issues have now come to the fore. Employers are now advised to include mental health first aid as part of their general first aid provisions. This means organisations must have qualified mental health first aiders who can provide initial help and support to staff experiencing mental health issues.
According to the HSE, during 2023–2024, out of the 1.7m people experiencing work-related illness, 776,000 were experiencing workplace stress. Worryingly, these figures are rising, as evidenced by the BMA confirming an alarming increase in the number of Fit Notes being issued by GPs for mental health reasons.
Recently, 2,000 employees (including management) were surveyed, which led to the Drager Safety and Health Report 2025. Whilst the Report noted that 96% of the participants felt safe at work and 61% said they felt very safe, there were certain worrying trends. Eighty percent felt mental health was linked to physical safety at work. Sixty-five percent said a lack of psychological safety can contribute to physical safety risks at work. This was due to high/increased workloads, stresses in other areas of life—for example, financial pressures—and lack of supportive management. It was also reported that staff were concerned about outdated work equipment, lack of any or adequate training (9% reported that they had not received any training for five years), and the introduction and impact of AI technology. The survey participants felt that employees were placed under increased health and safety responsibilities, that recent increases in employer national insurance contributions would lead to reduced health and safety budgets, and that training was simply a ‘ticking-box’ exercise.
The government recently introduced the Employment Rights Bill designed to enhance worker rights by:
- Introducing day one rights for unfair dismissal claims
- Abolishing zero-hours contracts and introducing predictable terms of employment
- Introducing day one paternity rights
- Giving day one rights to apply for flexible working requests
- Providing new protections against dismissal for pregnant women
- Strengthening workplace harassment laws, placing employers under proactive duties to prevent harassment in the workplace
Notwithstanding the above, employers should remember that they are under a statutory duty to safeguard the health and safety of their staff, contractors, and visitors who are under their control. Having good intentions is not sufficient. Employers must draw up safety policies and procedures that are suitable and appropriate for their business, consult and communicate these to staff, provide adequate and reasonable training (with regular refresher courses), and keep records. Having done so, these policies and practices must then be implemented and monitored regularly to ensure they are working and that staff are following the advice. Where necessary, policies should be reviewed and updated. Staff should be warned and subjected to disciplinary procedures where they disregard safety advice and instructions.
The Quest Health and Safety Helpline is available to advise you on your health and safety duties and obligations to ensure you remain compliant. Similarly, the HR Helpline can help you deal with non-conforming employees. It is important that businesses source suitable advice before making any drastic decisions.
