Mental health first aid in the workplace

In November 2025, the HSE released their 2024/5 statistics to summarise the key workplace accident and illness figures from the previous year. Stress, anxiety or depression accounted for 52% of all workplace reported ill health, with a further 22.1 million working days were lost as a result with nearly 23 days off work on average. These figures show an increase in poor mental health in the workplace since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, with public admin/defence, human health and social work, and education as the sectors most affected.

The UK charity, Mind, also provides further statistics, highlighting that in England:

• 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year
• 1 in 5 people report experiencing a common mental health condition (like anxiety and depression) in any given week
• About 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 have a probable mental health condition

What does this mean for the workplace?

Whilst there is currently no legal requirement to train mental health first aiders in the workplace, the HSE’s first aid needs assessment recognises that poor mental health is a growing concern in the workplace, and issues guidance on this topic:

“You should consider ways to manage mental ill health in your workplace which are appropriate for your business, such as providing information or training for managers and employees, employing occupational health professionals, appointing mental health trained first aiders and implementing employee support programmes.”

With a growing focus on mental health campaigns from the HSE, more and more companies are beginning to prioritise employee wellbeing and make sure workers have access to mental health support, or mental health first aiders in the workplace. As growing incidents of stress, depression and anxiety are being reported, more workplaces are focussing on mental health support for their employees. Many companies are now seeing the benefits of proactively providing managers and employees with information, instruction and training in mental health matters, as part of their approach to occupational health and safety.

Available training

At LRB Consulting Ltd, we provide both a one-day mental health awareness training course and two-day mental health first aid training. These courses can be delivered at our Loughborough offices, or can be delivered at your site.

If you are interested in booking a course with us, or have any questions on the subject, please reach out to us on 01509 550023, or at enquiries@lrbconsulting.co.uk