The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) recently published new non-statutory guidance, which can be accessed here, to support UK employers and employees when handling reasonable adjustments for mental health at work. In light of the World Health Organisation reporting that 15% of working-age adults have a mental disorder at any one time, the guidance could provide useful support to employers in navigating the dialogue with their employees sensitively.
Background
It is not news that supporting employees’ and workers’ mental health in the workplace enables people living with mental health conditions to participate and thrive at work and can increase retention and productivity rates for employers. ACAS’s new guidance emphasizes these benefits and aims to provide practical support and guidance on putting in place reasonable adjustments for mental health.
The guidance starts by reminding UK employers of their legal obligations (set out in the Equality Act 2010) in respect of making reasonable adjustments (essentially changes an employer can make to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone’s disability). The duty applies when someone has a “disability,” which is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
The ACAS guidance
It is important to note that the ACAS guidance is non-statutory (so does not have legal force) and does not change...
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