Representatives of the Council and Stockport NHS Foundation Trust have been invited to the meeting to discuss the challenges facing these two organisations as employers in dealing with mental illness in its workforce.
Minutes:
(i) Kathy Heaton, Learning & Development Services Manager, Stockport Council, attended the meeting and gave an overview of the policies and processes followed by the Council when an employee reported mental health problems.
An information note was also submitted (copies of which were circulated) providing background and statistical information.
In summary, once the Council received notification that an employee was having mental health problems then a referral would be made to Occupational Health and the employee would also be offered counselling, provided by Relate. Depending on the circumstances, an employee may also be offered the opportunity to have physio-therapy. The employee would be monitored in accordance with the Sickness Absence Policy, although where mental health was a concern this would be driven by that employee’s needs.
Since the end of 2009 there had been a steady increase in the number of Full Time Equivalent days lost where the employee was classed as being absent due to ‘Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Mental Health, Fatigue’. This had coincided with reductions in staffing, although there was no evidence this was the cause. However, the Council had responded to this trend and introduced additional support for employees on managing and coping with change.
Councillors asked questions and made comments. The following issues were raised:-
· Redeployment of staff with recurrent stress-related problems needed to be handled carefully so as to minimise disruption, but the manager of the service receiving the redeployed employee would need to be aware of their history. The Council’s aim with redeployment was to avoid dismissal.
· The counselling provided was confidential and no feedback was provided to the Council. The Council would also seek to signpost and work with other agencies where there was an external cause of ill-health, such as domestic violence, etc.
· The Coding used in the Sickness Absence procedures was a broad one, and may mask the variation in the conditions involved, although being more specific in the Codes may make them less useful for data reporting purposes and discourage accurate reporting from employees. The needs of employees with mental health problems were addressed on a case-by-case basis.
· The managerial culture of an organisation had a significant impact on the level of sickness absence, particularly the managerial response to such incidences. Local authorities were often stressful environments, but also provided the most support.
· Those in middle-management were often most vulnerable, because they were often in the position to have to implement changes they themselves were not wholly capable of influencing. There was specific support available to managers as part of the managing change process.
· The Council had a training programme for all those involved in managing staff. This included elements that helped train managers to ‘tease out’ underlying problems. Where significant changes in legislation or policy arose these were disseminated through briefings.
· Where an employee needed time off for treatment or counselling etc., the Council aimed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate these needs. It did not encourage employees to use their lunch breaks for this purpose.
· Tackling work-place bullying was a difficult issue and required the employee involved to come forward before action could be taken. Such cases were rare at the Council, but it was stressed that employees needed confidence in policies and procedures, such as the whistleblowing policy, so that problems were reported.
· There were examples from other public sector employers, such as the PCT, where staff who had been dismissed on health grounds, including mental health, were able to ‘return to work’ on zero-hour contracts, which helped them back into other employment.
· An emphasis on minimising sickness absence may have the unintended consequence of increasing early retirements due to ill-health, thereby not contributing to overall employee wellbeing.
· Many cases of absence, whether classified as mental health related or otherwise, may be connected to issues with drug and alcohol dependency. It was difficult for managers to identify these cases if employees did not present themselves as having these issues.
· Because of changes in the law, no prospective employer could ask questions of applicants about their medical or mental health conditions. The Council would also make reasonable adjustments for those already in employment, though it was emphasised that working from home while ill was not appropriate.
· In terms of actively encouraging or promoting employment for those with mental health issues, which was an Adult Social Care Framework Outcome, the Council worked with Pure Innovations and there were a range of other particular projects in specific settings.
· The challenge for the Council was to encourage other organisations, particularly in the private sector, to adopt similar policies and approaches to employees with mental health problems. This was particularly difficult for Small and Medium Enterprises where there was not the flexibility in the workforce to cover absence.
(b) Jane Ball, Deputy Director of Planning and Business Development, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, attended the meeting to answer questions from the Scrutiny Committee about the Trust’s policies and processes when an employee reported mental health problems.
An information note was also submitted (copies of which were circulated) providing background information in relation to this aspect of the work of the Trust.
It was emphasised that many of the procedures followed by the Council reflected those used by the Trust, although in many cases because of the type of employment involved there may be safeguarding issues so there was less scope to accommodate particular needs. As a result the policies may appear more punitive.
RESOLVED – (1) That Kathy Heaton and Jane Ball be thanked for their attendance.
(2) That the Assistant Chief Executive (Policy, Strategy, Partnerships & Transformation) be requested to provide additional data on levels of sickness absence relating to Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Mental Health, Fatigue by pay grade, gender and Directorate/ business area.