Most businesses would never skip a fire risk assessment. Yet mental health risk is still treated as optional in a lot of workplaces, even though UK law says otherwise.

The legal bit, kept simple

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their staff. HSE has confirmed that "health" includes psychological health, not just physical.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 go further. They require a "suitable and sufficient" risk assessment of hazards, and psychological risk counts.

So this isn't really a wellbeing extra. It's a legal duty, the same category as fire safety and manual handling.

Why this matters right now

HSE's 2024/25 figures show 964,000 workers experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety, accounting for 52% of all work-related ill health. That's 22.1 million working days lost, a sharp rise on the year before.

Stress is no longer a background issue. It's the single biggest driver of ill health at work in the UK.

Where Mental Health First Aid fits

MHFA training gives you:

• A practical, documented control measure you can point to if your approach to psychological risk is ever questioned
• Managers and colleagues who can spot the early signs and respond appropriately
• A working example of "suitable and sufficient" support, not just a policy sat in a drawer



None of this replaces a proper stress risk assessment. But it sits naturally alongside one, the same way a trained fire warden sits alongside a fire risk assessment.