Employers have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect their staff’s mental wellbeing. This page outlines the key UK laws and regulations that govern workplace mental health, helping organisations understand their obligations and create safer, more supportive environments for employees.
This Act places a general duty of care on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees. That duty extends to psychological health: employers should identify and reduce risks such as work-related stress, bullying, harassment, and other psychosocial hazards in the same systematic way as physical risks.
These Regulations require suitable and sufficient risk assessments, including for stress and other mental health risks. Employers must implement preventive and protective measures, monitor their effectiveness, and provide information, instruction, and training so employees understand risks and how to get help.
The Equality Act prohibits discrimination arising from disability. Many mental health conditions can amount to a disability if they have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on day-to-day activities. Employers must make reasonable adjustments—such as flexible hours, adjusted duties, or quiet spaces—to remove barriers and avoid discrimination.
Employees are protected from unfair dismissal. Where mental health is a factor, employers must follow fair procedures, consider medical evidence, explore reasonable adjustments or redeployment, and use capability or absence processes appropriately before contemplating dismissal.
These Regulations set limits on weekly working hours and require rest breaks and paid annual leave. Proper control of working time supports mental wellbeing by reducing fatigue, stress, and burnout, and employers must organise work so that legal rest periods and holiday entitlements are observed.