Council for Work & Health

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Monthly Archives: December 2025

Royal Assent granted to the Employment Rights Act 2025

19th December 2025

The Council for Work and Health welcomes Royal Assent being granted to the Employment Rights Act 2025. The recognition of the importance of employment practices on the health of workers is a theme of the legislation, including day one entitlement to statutory sick pay, statutory duties in relation to menopause action plans and more measures to enable work-life balance. The potential of the newly-established Fair Work Agency to bring considerations of health support into its remit has been trailed by the Mayfield Report. This raises the prospect of disputes relating to standards of health support, disability and critical issues like menopause support being underpinned by the Agency, rather than requiring resort to Employment Tribunals. Such a development is also welcome.

The Council membership are working hard to ensure that workers can continue to access professional and clinically-led advice to enable employees to make judgements about the impact of work on their own health. This is in addition to the work of many of its members to ensure that employers are guided by good practice in health protection. In the New Year, the Council will be moving ahead with professionally-led standards to underpin the professions who are the mainstay of healthy work in this country.”

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) position statement

18th December 2025
Please see below the MHFA position statement agreed with Council Chair, Kevin Bampton, and the two Chairs of the Council Mental Health Subgroup, Nicola Neath and Abigail Hirshman.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) has become a widely adopted term for a variety of workplace activities which have the support of workers experiencing mental health issues at their focus. At present there is no benchmark or regulation for the interventions or practitioners supporting them. 

People experiencing mental health problems may be vulnerable and therefore at risk if well-intentioned initiatives are not properly planned and executed. In addition, employers owe a duty of care to their employees in relation to mental health problems caused by work and in relation to ensuring the quality and appropriateness of any interventions provided by the workplace. 

Service providers also have a duty under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 not to provide a service which could cause harm to health. 

The Council for Work and Health welcomes the efforts of MHFA England to create and set standards for improving the implementation of MHFA in those organisation that may wish to use MHFA. Various Council member organisations responded directly to the call to gather information that may better inform these standards.

The Council position is not to provide a separate detailed response. It recognises MHFA is one of a number of different interventions that organisations and business may pay for to support the mental health of its employees.

Drawing upon both the evidence and extensive experience of its members, the Council believes that the management of mental health at work should consider a broad spectrum of initiatives and interventions. These include preventative measures addressing and responding to the sources of stress at work, training and psychoeducation for line managers and staff, inclusive policies and practices from recruitment and retirement; and a range of support when people are unwell including occupational health and access to counselling using skilled and qualified practitioners.

Over 2 million people are living with an illness or injury caused by their work. We need to work together to both prevent this happening and also support those who are made ill through work, that is why there is a need for a multi-disciplinary approach that seeks to address the issues at source.

Hugh Robertson Senior Policy Officer for Health and Safety, TUC