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Published: February 21, 2022

New research by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has found that over a third (35%) of British employers have not spoken to their staff about their mental health and wellbeing over the past year.

A survey conducted on ACAS’s behalf by YouGov, asked businesses in Britain about whether they had personally talked to their staff about their mental health in the last 12 months. The poll found that:

• nearly 3 in 5 (59%) had spoken to staff
• over a third (35%) had not talked to staff
• 3% did not know or could not remember
• 3% preferred not to say

Robert Candy, Chief Executive of the Scaffolding Association said; “Businesses must do more to support employees with their mental health and wellbeing. It is inevitable that the pandemic will have exacerbated pre existing concerns. It will have also created new mental health and wellbeing issues among individuals and employees. The easiest thing a business can do is to talk with their staff, so it is concerning that over a third have not taken this basic step”.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that more than 2,000 construction workers took their own lives in the UK in the decade to 2017 which is more than four times the number of construction workers killed during the course of their duties for the same period.

The Scaffolding Association recently established a Health and Wellbeing Committee which aims to help employers in the sector improve the support they provide in relation to mental health and to encourage employees to talk with employers and colleagues.

For more information on the latest ACAS research visit: 1 in 3 employers have not talked to staff about their mental health over the past year | Acas