Tag Archives: health and safety

A workplace duty of care exists in UK law for mental health. But it is not treated the same as physical health and safety by employers. That duty of care fails too many people.

The Whole Person Mental Health motion and policy paper coming to the 2026 Lib Dem Spring Conference in York does not address this. 

The paper is full of great policy and has my support. There is a gap where mental health at work should be. But we have a great platform. I hope our party can keep building on this paper where the current government which is unlikely to. 

We may help form a government after the next general election. Having a clear ready-to-go duty of care policy for mental health in the workplace could be so powerful for so many.

There are too many heartbreaking stories. And statistically, Mental Health First Aid England cite that four in ten experience high stress during the day. Deloitte found 77% experience burnout.

One friend had a seizure two years ago, attributed by doctors to work-related stress. Thank goodness he managed to stop his bike and pull over before the worst effects hit. I won’t go into personal or family stories here. But so many routinely go through intense stress, depression, and anxiety that is either entirely, or mostly, connected to their working conditions.

And managers don’t know how to deal with it. Or they make it worse. Sometimes on purpose, often it’s more because they don’t know. That same Deloitte study found only one in four thinks their employer cares about their wellbeing.

Countries like Sweden, Belgium, and New Zealand have explicit, codified requirements (ie “you must”) rather than the UK’s primarily guidance-led implementation. Australia’s requirements resemble “core safety compliance” where mental health is embedded in workplace law.

Mental health in the workplace should be treated the same as physical health and safety. Employees should know their rights and how to be supported. 

I first started thinking about this duty of care when, several years ago at a Bournemouth Autumn Conference, I met a campaigner from ForThe100, a group advocating for universities to have a legal duty of care for their students – given far too many still take their own lives and even more suffer with their mental health without any support.