Mental health and employment in the NHS

As the largest public sector employer in the UK, the NHS can make a significant contribution to combating discrimination against people with mental health problems. This will not only benefit the individuals concerned, but can also have a positive impact on the diversity of the workforce and the experience the NHS is able to offer patients.

People with mental health problems frequently suffer discrimination in the workplace and unemployment affects those with long-term mental disorders more than any other group of disabled people. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate against people with mental health problems protected by the act.

Public Sector Target

The government's Public Sector Agreement Target 16 seeks to increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and employment, education or training and the Department of Health has challenged the NHS to become an exemplar for other employers in employing previous mental health service users. This particularly applies to those with the most serious mental health and learning difficulties.

Employment, in these circumstances, does not necessarily mean full time employment but may mean work, paid or unpaid, limited to the number of days or sessions that the employee and their advisers feel they can manage at the time of appointment. This should be kept under review and discussed by all parties on a regular basis.

Mental ill health - a definition

The term mental ill health covers harmful levels of stress, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder (manic depression), psychosis, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and is often associated with drug and alcohol abuse and eating disorders (e.g. anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

NHS Employers and the mental health agenda

NHS Employers has been commissioned by the Department of Health to improve the numbers of previous mental health service users and people with severe learning difficulties in employment in the NHS.

On World Mental Health Day, we published an updated version 'Mental health and employment in the NHS' which provides advice on the employment and support of previous service users and also on supporting staff who develop mental health problems whilst in service. It has been extended to include the advice published in February 2008 on the management of mental health issues of doctors.

We will keep you updated of any future publications and announcements through this website, where you will also be able to find details of our plans for further work with trusts and their networks aimed at improving the employment opportunities for previous mental health service users and those with learning disabilities.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is 10th October each year and we encourage trusts to mark the day by holding events and distributing literature on stigma and working with those suffering mental ill health. The website of the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) has details of World Mental Health Day and including a range of publications and details of how to become involved.