Why we are seeing an increasing need to support long term sickness
Here is the Hot Topic for March 2024 and an accompanying webinar will follow, which will be hosted on 14 March 2024. Last year, new data was published that provided startling statistics about sickness absence and the UK labour market for 2023. In this month’s Hot Topic, we are going to focus specifically on long […]
Poor work-life balance affects the mental health of 9 out of 10 women
A study conducted by Bloom UK has revealed that over 90% of women have encountered mental health challenges due to inadequate work-life balance. The survey, which targeted 704 women in the marketing and communications sector, explored their perceptions of work-life balance and its impact on their personal well-being. According to the findings, more than two-fifths […]
Record number of work days lost to long-term sickness
Long-term sickness levels continue to be a significant challenge for employers with recent statistics revealing concerning trends. In the period from October to December 2023, the number of economically inactive individuals aged 16-64 due to long-term sickness surged to a staggering 2.8 million. This data underscores the pressing need for proactive measures to address this […]
‘Time to Talk Day’ and help to prevent work related ill health
The beginning of February marked Time to Talk Day. Effect change across workplaces in Britain by joining the effort to raise awareness about stress prevention and support for mental well-being during key moments throughout the year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s Working Minds campaign gives employers access to a calendar highlighting awareness days, weeks, […]
10 things to do if an employee is struggling with mental health
During Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re offering our top tips, including what to do if an employee is struggling with mental health. We have heard a great deal about mental ill health in the last few months, whether this has been hearing how people have struggled during the pandemic or struggled as members of the Royal […]
Mental Health Guidance Updated
Acas has published new guidance this month regarding reasonable adjustments to support mental health in the workplace. Under the Equality Act 2010, mental ill health can be considered a disability, which means that in those cases where it does, an employer is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments could be to the job […]
Mental Health Guidance Update
Acas has published new guidance this month regarding reasonable adjustments to support mental health in the workplace. Under the Equality Act 2010, mental ill health can be considered a disability, which means that in those cases where it does, an employer is legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments could be to the job role, working […]
Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Neurodiversity describes how there are a range of differences in how a person’s brain and cognition function, therefore recognising that we are all different in how our brain processes, learns, and behaves. Neurodiversity encompasses both neurotypical and neurodivergent. Neurotypical means the person has typical neurological development or function whereas neurodivergent describes someone who has brain […]
New mental health and wellbeing plan
In April, the government opened a consultation seeking views on what could be done to improve everyone’s mental health and wellbeing. Acas set out its response to the call for evidence, which dealt with the question “do you have ideas for how employers can support and protect the mental health of their employees”. Some of […]
10 ways employers can support those affected by the war in Ukraine
The war in the Ukraine is deeply worrying and upsetting for everyone worldwide and many people will be feeling great anxiety about the unfolding situation and what may happen next. For employers, there they will also want to do all they can to support their employees’ safety, but how? Firstly, there may be employers who […]
Absences due to ill-health (long term)
There is no legal definition of ‘long-term’ absence so it is up to the employer to decide at what point such absences need to be formally reviewed. Often a trigger procedure that alerts you once an employee has been absent for an unbroken period is put in place, typically set at four, six or 13 […]
Absence Management: mental health questions and answers
Further to the recent webinar “Absence Management: How to manage mental health absences”, which you can now watch on demand, we had many questions raised. The following are our responses to those we could not answer live at the time. Where questions were of a similar nature, we have grouped these together and provided a […]
Absence Management: How to deal with mental health absences
It is reported that depression, which is just one form of mental ill health, is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. The Office for National Statistics reported that in 2018/19, stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 54% of all working days lost due to ill health. We have also seen mental health being affected directly because […]
Health and Safety Update December 2020
Covid-19 Secure Spot Checks HSE is continuing to conduct spot checks and inspections to ensure workplaces are Covid-19 secure. Their inspections will enable businesses to seek further advice on how to manage the risks, protect workers, customers, and visitors. Participation in the spot checks is critical, and so where there is failure to do so, could […]
How to Support Mental Health at Work
Earlier this year, from the 18th to 24th of May 2020 was Mental Health Awareness week, as hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, with the theme of kindness. The Mental Health Foundation says, “We all have so much going on in our lives, including competing strains and stresses – not to mention the current coronavirus pandemic. This can see kindness pushed to one side, in favour of […]
Managing long term sickness absence
Following a fair procedure when managing sickness absence When you are managing long-term sickness absence at what point do you have to make the decision that the employee is potentially unfit to return? You have to remember that if someone has been off sick for a long time they are deemed to be incapable to […]
Blue Monday in the Workplace
Whether a touch of the blues or something more serious, January can be hard on your workforce. ‘Blue Monday’, the so-called most depressing day of the year, is coming up next week. This is the day where the weather, personal debt, and the time since the Christmas holidays all combine into an amalgamation of disappointment […]
Employee health and wellbeing: managing absence and lateness
Let’s discuss employee health and wellbeing in relation to absence as well as lateness. What are the effects that absence and lateness can have on your business, and what are the most effective ways to manage them? Absent and constantly late employees don’t just affect your organisation’s productivity; they can also have a negative impact […]
UK Workers Drinking Midweek Due to Stress
Over 50% of British employees are drinking midweek to cope with the stress of life, research by vouchercloud.com has found. The study by the leading discount website also found that almost a quarter (24%) of those who admitted to drinking during the week have called in sick to work on at least one occasion due […]
UK Workers Not Taking Full Holiday Allowance
More than half of workers in the UK are not taking their full holiday allowance, according to research by Reed. 54% of employees are leaving an average of three days of holiday a year unused. Nearly half of the respondents (45%) said that they had previously cancelled a holiday for work reasons, whilst 24% said […]