Mental Health at Work for Managers

This module sets out why mental health belongs in every manager's job, using recent prevalence and cost data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, the Health and Safety Executive and Deloitte. It introduces Corey Keyes' dual continua model, makes clear what a manager is and is not, and covers Stevenson and Farmer's six Thriving at Work standards, good work as protection, and mental health policy in Wales and England.

This module makes the case that how work is designed and led is the biggest lever a manager holds. It covers the six Health and Safety Executive Management Standards, the legal duty to assess stress under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the 1999 Regulations, the University of Birmingham enforcement case, and William Fleming's evidence on individual wellbeing interventions. The principle throughout: change the work, not the worker.

This module covers one of the moments managers find hardest: noticing that someone may be struggling and starting a conversation. It looks at changes rather than symptoms, why people disclose to people rather than policies, a five step structure for a supportive conversation, and helpful and unhelpful phrases. The illustrative case of Rhian and Owen, and Mind's wellness action plan, show how follow up builds trust.

This module shows that, read properly, the law asks for much the same things as good management. It covers when a mental health condition is a disability under the Equality Act 2010, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, and the common law duty of care through Walker, Hatton v Sutherland and Barber. The message: adjust early, write it down, follow up.

This module covers how to respond well when someone is off work with their mental health. It explains the Statutory Sick Pay changes from April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025, how to read a fit note, keeping in touch as connection rather than pressure, managing disability-related absence fairly in light of the Griffiths case, and planning a phased, reviewed return, set in the context of the Keep Britain Working review.

This module looks at why people stay silent about their mental health, and how managers can change that. It draws on Patrick Corrigan's three forms of stigma and label avoidance, language that helps, Amy Edmondson's psychological safety and her three leadership moves, and Sidney Dekker's just culture as applied at Mersey Care. It shows how responses to mistakes and to disclosure shape the wellbeing of the whole team.

This module approaches suicide awareness gently and with hope, setting out what managers can do: notice, ask directly, connect people with help and lead with care. It covers the Office for National Statistics 2024 figures, common myths tested against evidence, including Dazzi and colleagues' review on asking directly, a five step route when you are worried, postvention guidance from Business in the Community and Public Health England, and Samaritans' safe messaging.

This module recognises how much managers carry and turns attention to both the team and the manager. It traces the pathway from pressure to strain to burnout, using Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter's three dimensions and the World Health Organization's view of burnout as an occupational phenomenon. It also covers what leaks when leaders are anxious, routes to support, psychological first aid after trauma, and Achor and Gielan's case for recovery over endurance.

This capstone reads three cases through the whole picture of managing mental health at work: Barber v Somerset County Council, the House of Lords duty of care case; health and care staff in the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and Williamson, Murphy and Greenberg on moral injury; and Dafydd, an illustrative council officer returning from absence. It closes with a simple loop: notice, ask, adjust, follow up.