MPs in the House of Commons have backed a campaign to establish a legal duty on employers to train staff in mental health first aid.
The motion called for the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations SI 1981/917 to be amended to include a legal duty on employers to train staff in mental health first aid, and emphasise that employer's first aid responsibilities cover both physical and mental health.
The amendment received MPs backing during a backbench debate, this is a debate where backbench MPs can table and debate a motion in Parliamentary time that isn't Government controlled. Despite MPs who were present backing the motion, the Government are not required to take action as a result of a backbench debate.
MPs from across the political parties tabled the motion, including Labour MP Luciana Berger, Conservative MP Johnny Mercer and Liberal Democrats MP Norman Lamb.
MP Luciana Berge stated in the debate: ''This really would be a simple shift, but one with a huge beneficial impact on the lives of millions of British workers. No one can seriously contend that there is not a need for such a measure. A number of unions have come out in support of the change to the law we are seeking to make today. Community, The Teachers' Union and Unite were all signatories to the letter to the Prime Minister I just mentioned, and the Communications Workers Unions and the GMB have since joined calls for this change to the law.''
MP Johnny Mercer also argued for the change, saying that employer's goodwill alone to manage mental health can't be relied upon, he added: ''Ultimately, this is too big a challenge to be left to personalities involved in companies at different times. Sometimes we have to legislate for it. This is not a problem for the companies that already do this, but sometimes the most vulnerable people in our communities deserve the government legislating and letting them know that we are on side.''
MP Norman Lamb also backing the motion, warned of the danger of mental health simply becoming a 'tick box' exercise for companies. He commented: ''There is a risk of the tick-box exercise, where an employer can just say, ‘Yes, we have trained someone up in mental health first aid. We’ve done nothing else, but we have ticked the box and therefore we have met the regulation.' That would be a failure for all of us if that was the outcome of this exercise. The more fundamental point is that the approach we should be taking is about preventing ill health in the workplace ... we have to think about the causes of stress and anxiety in the workplace. Often, it is due to unhealthy workplaces, where people are not respected and where there is a bullying culture. Depressingly, we see that quite often in the NHS. That has to be confronted, because that is the cause of so many people feeling anxious, distressed and depressed as a result of what happens at work.''
There has been increasing support to address mental health in the workplace, especially in light of the latest Health and Safety Executive statistics that show 600,000 workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety cases in 2017/18, and more working days were lost due to stress, depression or anxiety than by any other cause.
It will be interesting to see if the Government take further action on this important issue and create further legal obligations for employers. Rest assured, if they do, Cedrec will keep you informed of any changes.
