Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce mandatory epilepsy training for (a) employers and (b) employees.

Employers have a key role to play in supporting workers with long-term health conditions or disabilities in the workplace and it is for employers to assess the training requirements for their workforce. However, the Department of Health and Social Care has no plans to introduce mandatory epilepsy training.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ current offer to employers includes a digital information service which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees, including epileptic employees, to remain in work.

The service was developed with user-centred design principles. It offers a simple, interactive, and highly usable resource which helps employers to feel more confident having conversations with their employees about health and disability as well as understanding and fulfilling their legal obligations.

This digital service provides tailored guidance on supporting employees in common workplace scenarios involving health and disability. This enables small businesses to self-serve, by guiding them through key processes. Employers are also able to access links to related government products and services as well as links to sources of external expert support including Epilepsy Action and Epilepsy Society.

The digital information service is available at the following link:

https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disability