Information - Other helpful publications

Click on the links...

Absence & health management
General mental health
Good practice - health, work and well-being
Stress management
Support for line managers

... and take a look at Useful websites and MINDFUL EMPLOYER Publications. If you know of any other resources then please contact us. 

All the documents shown below are in pdf format (opens with Adobe Reader). Click on the bold text to download or to link to website. If for any reason you have difficulty accessing or reading these documents then please contact us.

ACAS guidance on mental health and work
MINDFUL EMPLOYER has worked in partnership with ACAS to develop guidance on mental health and work. We were delighted when ACAS approached us to support them in developing this work. The guide gives full credit to MINDFUL EMPLOYER and the mark of credibility that gives the initiative (and, as they acknowledge, vice-versa for ACAS) is tremendous. Click on the title to download their booklet.Click on the title to download their booklet.

Public Health Responsibility Deal
Run by Dept of Health under the auspices of Dame Carol Black, the Public Health Responsibility Deal taps into the potential for business and other influential organisations to help create an environment where people can lead healthier lives and so contribute to improving public health. Organisations signing up to the
Responsibility Deal make a commitment to taking action voluntarily to improve public health. They do so as responsible employers, and through their commercial actions and community activities. The Responsibility Deal complements the Charter for Employers who are Positive About Mental Health. Click on the title to sign the Responsibility Deal.

Absence & health management

Guidance on the Fit Note
The Statement of Fitness for Work, or 'fit note', aims to focus on what an employee may be able to do at work rather than what they cannot do. Download Guidance for Employers and visit the Acas website for more information.

Management of Long Term Sickness Absence and Incapacity for Work
Published by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) this guidance is for all who manage long-term (or recurring short term) absence.

Absence Management Toolkit
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), working with HSE and Acas, have launched a free online toolkit to help managers with absence management. It is aimed principally at line managers working in small and medium sized enterprises, but could also be of interest to those working in larger organisations.

Workplace Interventions for People with Common Mental Health Problems
The British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) have published an evidence review and recommendations. Click on the link to access some key themes which will connect you to the main publication.

Work and Health
Produced by the National Director for Health, Work and Well-Being, this leaflet challenges how we think about health and work and offers ideas on what to do and what not to do

Concept of Rehabilitation for the Management of Common Health Problems by Gordon Waddell and A Kim Burton
Published by The Stationery Office, 2004. ISBN 0117033944: available from TSO Bookshops and www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

Practical Occupational Medicine by Raymond Agius, Anthony Seaton et al - click on the title for more information.

Recognising and managing mental health issues at work; the rationale for training and evidence of effectiveness
Written by Andrew Buckley of Kipepeo Ltd this paper has brought together some of the background and looked at the available evidence for effectiveness and outcomes of training employees in the recognition and management of mental health issues at work.

Think fit! Promoting workplace health and wellbeing
The British Heart Foundation has a series of resources for employers interested in workplace health programmes. The resources cover physical activity, healthy eating and mental wellbeing and include a range of ideas, challenges and signposts and an employee booklet. Tel 0870 600 6566 or e-mail orderline@bhf.org.uk

Self Reunited
This workbook provides employee-focussed self-help materials on emotional and psychological wellbeing (click on the title for a sample).

Mind report: Employer solutions for better mental health at work
In May 2011, Mind hosted a business summit, supported by AXA, bringing together leading employers to explore the issues around mental health at work and to develop peer-led solutions. Mind's summit report reveals how employers feel mental health can be more positively promoted and managed at work, with powerful testimonies and best-practice case studies.

From Stress to Distress: the impact of the economic recession on mental health & work
Published by ACAS, this policy discussion paper encourages UK businesses and managers to prepare for the longer term effects of the recession and implement policies and procedures to help cope with mental health issues in the workplace.

Mental Health & Employment in the NHS
Produced by NHS Employers and aimed primarily at NHS organisations, this website contains useful information for any employer.

Mental Health: The Last Workplace Taboo & Mental Health: Still the Last Workplace Taboo?
These two Independent research reports published 2006 and 2010, commissioned by the Shaw Trust into what British business thinks. Available from the Shaw Trust website.

Don't Mix It! - Alcohol & Work
The HSE have produced a free employers' guide to alcohol and work focusing on topics including the effects on individuals, the legal position, providing information and the implications of screening.

Guidance for Trade Union Representatives
Working with the TUC, together with the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (now Centre for Mental Health) and MINDFUL EMPLOYER, the former Disability Rights Commission  published this guidance for trade unions on supporting members with mental health problems to resolve workplace issues, and how to create a ‘mentally healthy workplace’.

Good practice - health, work and well-being

NICE Guidance: Promoting mental wellbeing through productive and healthy working conditions: guidance for employers
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have produced this guidance for those who have a direct or indirect role in, and responsibility for, promoting mental wellbeing at work. This includes all employers and their representatives, irrespective of the size of the business or organisation and whether they are in the public, private, or voluntary sectors. The guidance makes a number of recommendations.

Employment: A Practical Guide
The former Disability Rights Commission (now Equality & Human Rights Commission) produced this practical guide to the law and best practice and agreed to it being available on this site. The document covers physical health issues, learning difficulties and mental health.

Emotional Resilience Toolkit
Produced by Business in the Community, the Emotional Resilience Toolkit provides practical guidance in promoting the resilience of individuals and teams in companies as part of an integrated health and wellbeing programme.

Health Work & Well-Being
Published by ACAS, this website contains information on health and the workplace, stress, alcohol and drug policies and other material including a booklet to download.

Investors In People: Health & Well-being at Work Resource Pack
A link to this useful resource from IiP.

Leading by Example
Written by Patience Seebohm and Bob Grove, this new book provides a very practical guide about for NHS Trusts and the public sector in general in becoming exemplar employers of people with mental health problems. Available price £10 plus p&p from Centre for Mental Health, 134-138 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB Tel: 020 7827 8300 or order online from Centre for Mental Health. 

Open Your Mind
NHS Employers has launched Open Your Mind - a national campaign to help NHS Trusts and organisations create a better working environment for staff and improve employment rates for people with mild, moderate and severe mental health conditions. Click on the link above to find out more.

The HR and Training Journal
The HR and Training Journal explores the key issues affecting HR and skills in the public sector. The Journal features enlightening and informative articles and interviews with leading experts from government, private and voluntary sectors. It examines topics such as recruitment, engagement and retention, education and training, leadership and management, equality, skills development, efficiency and effectiveness, individual and organizational performance, technology, change management and health and wellbeing, as they impact across the diverse spectrum of the public sector. Click on the title to read the current edition

What about Disability? A Need-to-Know Guide for Small Business
Published by the Employers Forum on Disability, this guide provides advice on disability etiquette as well as relevant facts and figures tailored to the needs of small businesses and larger organisations with smaller, satellite sites. Available from 020 7089 2410 or email publications@efd.org.uk

Stress management

Effective Ways to Tackle Workplace Stress
This website from the HSE helps employees, HR staff and Board Directors discover effective, lasting answers to workplace stress

Work-Related Stress: A Short Guide
Tackling Stress: A Guide for Employees
Tackling Stress: The Management Standards Approach
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have kindly agreed to us carrying these three publications for you to download.

Managing the cause of work related stress
HSE revised guidance Managing the cause of work related stress – A step by step approach using the Management Standards is now available from HSE Books  price £10.95. This edition updates and replaces the existing publication A manager’s guide to improving and maintaining employee health and wellbeing and includes a CD-ROM containing further revised tools and guidance.

Professor Derek Mowbray has created 3 white papers to help prevent stress at work: The Management Standards for a Healthy Organisation - implementing these standards produce a Healthy Organisation and promote Wellbeing and Performance. The Manager’s Code of Conduct sets out the behaviours that managers need to exhibit to create a working environment based on commitment, trust and engagement which is known to prevent stress and will result in a Positive Work Culture defined by innovation, attentiveness, energy and encouragement. Resilience and strengthening resilience in individuals.  Resilience is the ability to cope with stress-provoking events without experiencing  symptoms of personal stress.  Resilience training helps build personal resilience to withstand such events without stress-related problems.  Resilience training has probably the most immediate and sustained impact on primary prevention of stress at work. 

Managing Stress
Gateshead Council have produced some guides on managing stress - click to download the guide for managers and the guide for employees. Contact Michaella Wilson, Senior HR Advisor for more information 0191 433 2887

Managing stress and mental health at work
Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust in collaboration with Northumberland Care Trust and Northumberland Work and Wellbeing Group have produced Guidance Notes for Employers Implementing the Guidance for Managing Stress and Mental Health at Work and an accompanying leaflet. These look at various action steps and offer guidance on how to implement them. They have also produced a Well-Being Resource Book for New Managers.

Stress - Building the Business Case
Kindly provided by and published by NHS Health Scotland, this is a step-by-step guide to determining the impact of stress on your organisation. Covers financial, legal and other aspects.

Is Stress a Disability? - A Frequently Asked Question
This paper was written by the former Disability Rights Commission to complement Getting the Best Out of the Employment Experience Guidance for Trade Union Representatives (see below).

Working Together to Reduce Stress at Work
This leaflet has been produced by the International Stress Management Association and is supported by HSE, ACAS, TUC and the CIPD.

Support for managers

Reasonable Adjustments: Line Manager Guide
Published by Employers' Forum on Disability and sponsored by Unum, this guide aims to makes it easier for managers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people by helping to identify who needs an adjustment, decide if an adjustment is reasonable and know where to go for more help and advice. Please visit www.efd.org.uk/publications to order.

Line Manager Competency Indicator Tool
Line managers play a vital role in the identification and management of stress within the organisation. They are likely to see the problems causing the stress first hand, will be in the best position to notice changes in staff behaviour that may indicate a stress-related problem and will often be the first point of contact when an individual feels stressed. It is essential that line managers are equipped with the correct skills and behaviours to be able to manage these situations. The HSE, in association with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Investors in People, has designed a tool to allow managers to assess whether they currently have the behaviours identified as effective for preventing and reducing stress at work; its aim is to help managers reflect on their behaviour and management style.