organised awareness-raising campaigns on mental health issues jointly or alone. Several of these campaigns have targeted mental health in the workplace. There are also programmes aimed at raising awareness of depression and its treatment among general practitioners. Currently mental health care services are undergoing major changes and are being given priority within the national health care programme.
Legislation in the UK defines the responsibilities of employers in relation to safety and health in the workplace and requires them to treat all employees and job applicants fairly. The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) outlaws discrimination against persons with disabilities, including people with long-term mental illness. Employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment or working arrangements to match the individual needs of an employee. The Mental Health Act (1983) is currently under review.
The role of government and the social partners
During the 1990s, the British Government actively addressed mental health issues. In the early 1990s the Department of Health brought together an interagency group, including representatives from employees' and employers' organisations, to address mental health issues in the workplace. These activities resulted in conferences, publications, and leaflets. More recently, a 1999 White Paper, "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation," targeted mental health problems as one of the five major health problems to be tackled in the UK. The White Paper recognises mental health problems as a major cause of ill health, disability, and early mortality in the UK. These findings have been taken seriously, and mental health is one of the first new National Service Frameworks to be implemented since April 2000. In addition, in 1999, the Ministries for Public Health and for Safety and Health launched a "Healthy Workplace Initiative", and the Health and Safety executive has published guidelines on mental health, stress, and work.
In the UK, employees' and employers' organisations play an active role in mental health issues. This situation analysis notes that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have been actively involved in interagency activities on mental health and work and have also dealt with the issue of stress among their members. The CBI has published a "Managers' Toolkit on Management of Mental Well Being" for distribution to its members. The Employers Forum on Disability has published several leaflets providing information on practical issues related to mental health difficulties and other disabilities (e.g., accommodations and stress prevention) and policy and the legislative framework in the UK.
The situation analysis also introduces non-governmental organisations working on mental health and employment-related issues, such as MIND and Mental Health Media. They have both recently published guidelines and information packages concerning mental health issues and work. NGOs play an important role in advocating employment of people with disabilities and providing information on the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK.
Several British academic institutes are conducting research on mental health problems and the world of work. Some of them, such as Manchester University, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Nottingham University, are discussed in this report.
