Mental health awareness is continually growing and has quickly become a top priority for businesses in all sectors, across the UK. It’s important for employers to understand mental health in the workplace, the signs, symptoms and correct actions to take when an employee states a mental health condition. Would you know what to do?
In consultation with leading independent UK training provider, imperative training, Training Qualifications UK has developed a qualification with the purpose of highlighting key skills and knowledge to help with people suffering from mental health in a workplace setting.
Whether you work with 10 people or 10,000, paying attention to mental health in the workplace has never been more important. The Health and Safety Executive states: ‘One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point.’
In 2017, the government commissioned Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer (Chief Executive of Mind) to independently review the role employers can play to better support individuals with mental health conditions in the workplace.
The subsequent ‘Thriving at Work’ review produced a report which sets out a framework of actions called the Core Standards that employers of all sizes can and should put into place. Designed to assist employers in implementing and improving mental health support, the standards have been structured to enable individuals with mental health conditions to thrive in the workplace.
Work-related stress and mental health problems can often go hand in hand with very similar symptoms and it is these conditions that employers are keen to identify with and support.
‘People can experience work-related stress and physical changes such as high blood pressure, without having anxiety, depression or other mental health problems. They can also have anxiety and depression without experiencing stress. The key differences between them are their cause(s) and the way(s) they are treated.’
The TQUK Level 2 Award in Emergency Response for Mental Health in the Workplace (RQF) has been structured to support individuals and employers in everything from discussing and identifying mental health problems, comprehensive understanding of conditions and legislation and recognising the correct courses of action for individuals with symptoms through two units:
- Mental Health Awareness
- Responding to a Mental Health emergency
With the knowledge of how important it is to raise awareness and educate businesses on mental health, imperative training’s Managing Director, Lyndsey Hope states:
‘Mental health and wellbeing have quickly become a focus for businesses all over the UK, including ourselves at imperative training. Employees are a business’s best asset and providing this course ensures we’re able to spread the word and help individuals to gain a better understanding of the conditions, legislation and how they can help another individual in their workplace. In the long term, we’re hoping this course will help to decrease the statistics surrounding mental health.’
Training Qualifications UK Qualifications Manager Kelly Venter said: ‘Having previously developed Emotional Resilience qualifications to assist in supporting businesses and individuals with mental health conditions, we felt very strongly about developing our own qualification which further explored the themes, conditions and legislation surrounding mental health in the workplace.’
‘First aid in the workplace is an important topic as it deals with physical harm to a person and how to manage those situations, why shouldn’t we be asking about mental harm to a person and the damage it causes as well?’
If you are a Recognised Centre and looking for more information about the TQUK Level 2 Award in Emergency Response for Mental Health in the Workplace (RQF), please speak to your Client Relationship Officer by calling 03333 583344. If you’re new to TQUK, drop us an email to business.development@tquk.org or call us on 03333 583 344 to learn more about working with us.
