How HSENI can help employers
Our small team of mental well-being at work advisors are fully trained in the delivery of stress management programmes.
Our advisors can assist your organisation through the risk assessment process from securing commitment to continuous improvement.
Depending on the needs of your organisation and where resources permit, our mental well-being at work advisors can assist with:
- delivering presentations to all interested parties on the management standards and process involved
- providing templates to communicate key aspects of the process to staff
- advising on the selection of demographics to ensure qualitative data
- advising on both quantitative and qualitative data collection
- advising on documenting findings and potential solutions
- providing ongoing assistance throughout a two year period to review implementation of plans
- delivering interactive workshops to enable your organisation to carry out your own risk assessment
Implementing the management standards in your organisation will:
- help ensure your organisation’s compliance with the legal requirements where there is a risk of stress
- allow an assessment of the current situation using surveys and other techniques
- promote active discussion and working in partnership with employees to help decide on practical improvements that can be made
Our mental well-being at work advisors have no enforcement role, HSENI’s approach to tackling work-related stress and mental well-being is to provide advice, guidance and practical help towards a potential solution.
Case law has evidenced that industrial tribunals/civil courts look favourably at organisations that have attempted through risk assessment to eliminate, reduce or control these risks.
To further assist organisations in this process HSENI have developed an interactive workshop, suitable for HR and H&S officers. The workshop is available free of charge.
What to expect if an inspector calls
A health and safety inspector may visit your organisation to examine the arrangements in place for assessing and controlling risks from work-related pressures or other health and safety at work issues.
Inspectors will be looking for evidence that your organisation has undertaken or plans to complete a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
Risk assessment
Some key elements of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment are:
- worker involvement
- a hazard identification process (which will entail data gathering and analysis)
- gap analysis
- solution development
HSE and local authority inspectors recommend following the management standards to assess the risks of work-related stress in your organisation. There is more information about assessing your own approach.
Inspection
Your organisation may be visited by an inspector or team of inspectors. Inspectors may ask to speak to a range of people in your organisation, which may include representatives from:
- board of directors (chief executive, HR director)
- health and safety
- personnel/human resources
- occupational health
- recognised trades union/staff-side representatives
HSE has developed an inspection pack to help inspectors assess whether organisations are taking appropriate action to manage work-related stress effectively. It also explains HSE's policy on investigating complaints about work-related stress.
Management commitment to, and, employee involvement in - the stress risk assessment process are essential. Inspectors will use these two key performance indicators to assess the suitability of your organisation's risk assessment.
At the end of the initial visit, a follow-up visit may be scheduled. Inspectors will agree with you the progress they expect you to have made by the next inspection.
Enforcement
HSENI's approach to tackling work-related stress is to provide advice, guidance and practical help towards a potential solution. It is designed as an easy to follow process which includes supporting guidance, forms and tools to allow any organisation to carry out a mental well-being risk assessment using the management standards.
HSENI may undertake enforcement action, in the form of an improvement notice, where duty holders fail to show sufficient commitment to, or make sufficient progress in, assessing the risks from work-related stressors. An organisation would be unlikely to be subject to enforcement action by HSENI provided it could demonstrate it had adequately assessed the risks and was taking steps to address any problems identified.
If you would like further advice, guidance or information please contact a mental well-being at work advisor.