Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring all workplaces to have a trained mental health first aider.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Health and Safety (First-Aid Regulations) 1981 which require employers to provide first aid to employees who are injured or become ill at work.

The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations are designed to help individuals who require immediate intervention or support where necessary until professional emergency care arrives. They already require employers to consider mental health alongside physical health when undertaking a first aid needs assessment.

Training employees in mental health first aid can have a role to play as part of a holistic approach to raising awareness of and responding to potential mental health issues in the workplace. However, this should be risk based and informed by the employer’s assessment of first aid needs. Regulatory change to prescriptively mandate mental health first aid training would not allow employers to tailor their approach to workplace mental health to meet their particular needs and would likely introduce substantial financial burden that may be unwarranted.

The Government commissioned ‘Thriving at Work’ review recommended, in 2017, that employers adopt a set of core mental health standards that will provide a comprehensive approach to transforming mental health in the workplace. HSE is continuing its work with the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care, Joint Work and Health Directorate, to help employers better support all employees to remain in and thrive at work, including those with mental ill health or wellbeing.