Information

Finding the right information at the right time can be very difficult and very time consuming. This part of the site, together with the links to pages on The Law, organisations that are available to help, and examples of good practice, aims to make that task a lot easier by having everything you need to know in one place. Click on the bold text to follow links and download documents.

MINDFUL EMPLOYER Publications
Other helpful publications:
   Absence & health management
   General mental health
   Good practice - health, work and well-being
   Stress management
   Support for line managers
Useful websites

More information will be added to the list below and if you know of any other resources then please contact us. 

All the documents shown are in pdf format. (If you haven't got Adobe Reader to open pdf files then click on the logo to the left of this screen - the software is free. If for any reason you have difficulty accessing or reading these documents then please contact us.)

MINDFUL EMPLOYER^® Publications

What is Mental Ill Health?
A short guide to the main diagnoses and treatments.

Working Towards
An aid to help employers recognise good practice already in place, identify areas for improvement and plan how to work towards the aims of the Charter for Employers who are Positive About Mental Health.

Recruitment, Retention & Redeployment
Information on the range of support and help available. Bear in mind that funding through Access to Work may help cover the costs of making some reasonable adjustments.

What Works, What Doesn't
Examples of current employment practice and a stimulus for supporting employees who have mental health issues, their colleagues and managers.

Working for Health
'Working for Health’ conferences took place in May & December 2006 and brought together GPs and employers. This document (which is a revision of the one published in May 2006) brings together some of the common issues raised by delegates about links between GPs and employers and in managing sickness absence together. It offers statements on good practice and suggestions to assist in building on and improving current procedures.

Requesting a Doctor's Report
At the Working for Health conferences employers and doctors highlighted the need for better communication. Requests by employers for medical reports from GPs were one of the many issues discussed. This paper offers some suggestions and ideas for employers about what to include in such requests.

Feeling Stressed: Keeping Well
Is it possible to help prevent people from becoming unwell? Here is a preventative approach towards harmful levels of stress at work. Feeling Stressed: Keeping Well is a practical, common sense, personal workbook suitable for all staff to use.

MINDFUL EMPLOYER Posters
Two MINDFUL EMPLOYER posters are available for any employer to download, print and display on staff noticeboards etc - simply click on the link. We also produce posters for Charter signatories - these can be viewed by clicking on the link (printable copies are only available to signatories).

Mindful Employment Practice Resource List
The former Disability Rights Commission (now Equality & Human Rights Commission) and the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health together with MINDFUL EMPLOYER have produced this information on the employment of people with mental health problems, reducing stress, job retention, and contains a list of organisations and networks. Updated August 2007.

Other Helpful Publications

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

Absence & health management:

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

General mental health:

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.

Shift Review Panel
The Shift Review Panel assesses the quality and impact of materials designed to help employers promote mental wellbeing and manage mental ill health in the workplace. This site contains a range of useful information and documents as well as helpful comments about them.

Mental Health: The Last Workplace Taboo
Independent research commissioned by the Shaw Trust and conducted and written by the Future Foundation into what British business thinks. Available from the Shaw Trust website. See also websites.

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 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 Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 134-138 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB Tel: 020 7827 8300 or order online from SCMH. 

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.

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:

SHIFT Line Managers' Resource - Updated version October 2009
Originally published as part of the 'mind out for mental health' campaign (see below), this popular resource has been updated and reissued by SHIFT. Download the pdf by clicking on the link above.

Reasonable Adjustments: Line Manager Guide
Reasonable adjustments: Line manager guide is published by Employers' Forum on Disability and sponsored by Unum and 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.

Line Managers' Resource
Working Minds Toolkit
Two important and useful resources for employers are from the former 'mindout for mental health' campaign. 

Useful Websites

SHIFT have developed some videos and other resources especially for employers.

Directgov has a dedicated section about employment law and other related issues.

Dept of Health: Mental Health brings together a range of useful information

Developed in association with MINDFUL EMPLOYER and others, the Shaw Trust's mental health web resource provides lots of information to help manage mental ill health at work and a helpline for line managers. For Healthy Working Lives is also produced by Shaw Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Services to help employers to build diverse and inclusive workplaces, improve their employee’s wellbeing at work, reduce costs due to absence and ill health and improve business performance.

The Work Organisation assessment has been scientifically validated for use by small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector with a minimum of 20 employees.

The National Social Inclusion Project have an online employment resource on their website.

The Human Givens Institute in conjunction with Mindfields College provides straightforward psychological information and training that helps businesses create working environments which meet the innate needs of staff at all levels.

UK National Work-Stress Network provides a range of information and contacts.

Time To Change aims to end discrimination faced by people experiencing mental ill health.

National Mental Health Development Unit replaced the National Institute for Mental Health England (NIMHE) and provides national support for implementing mental health policy

Rehab Window provides an online directory of disability and rehabilitation services and products and publishes a free monthly e-newsletter, RehabReview.

And abroad...

European Network for Workplace Health Promotion has a number of initiative on mental health and the workplace.

Mental Health Works is an initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario.

National Partnership for Workplace Mental Health is an American Psychiatric Foundation programme in partnership with American employers and the American Psychiatric Association

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand

Beyond Blue is the national depression initiative in Australia

More information will be added to this page in due course.

We are not responsible for the content or accuracy of of any downloadable information (except where shown as being published MINDFUL EMPLOYER^®) and linked websites, nor the services delivered by or terms and conditions of the organisations shown. Inclusion on this site is on a 'for information' basis for you to make your own enquiries and does not imply any form of endorsement or otherwise by MINDFUL EMPLOYER^®.