Why is mental health support necessary for my business?
According to the Keep Britain Working Review, UK organisations lost approximately 150 million working days to sickness, with approximately 22.1 million of these working days lost to stress, depression, and anxiety. When considering long and short-term absences, this accounts for more than half of all work-related ill health.
1 in 5 people reported a workplace absence due to poor mental health caused by stress related issues, while 91% experienced high or extreme pressure.
In order to avoid the negative impacts of poor mental health on your business, you need to think about providing mental health support.
Do small businesses need to offer mental health support?
Yes, now more than ever, having some kind of mental health support provision is a necessary part of operating a business with employees.
Here's why:
Since the introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025, effective since April 2026, all employees, regardless of salary, are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay from day 1 of sick leave.
It also increases the entitlement to bereavement leave and encourages all businesses to have a menopause support plan, as it's estimated that 1 in 10 menopausal women leave their workplace due to lack of support.
Now, having mental health support provided as part of your remuneration offering is not just a 'nice to have'. Supporting your employees to be mentally fit for work is more important than ever.
"But we're a family- they can talk to me about anything!"
Actually, having an impartial conversation with a professional can offer far more support than speaking with a manager.
This isn't a dig at your management skills. As a qualified counsellor, the kind of support I can offer your employees is completely different to the understanding they can get from you. Professional mental health support is a must for those who are at risk of burnout if you want to avoid a long period of sick leave.
By directing your employees to this service you are:
- Working to reduce sickness absence and keep people in work by providing timely support
- Improving focus and performance by addressing wellbeing barriers
- Reducing risk associated with stress, burnout, trauma and interpersonal issues
- Working to improve workforce retention
- Providing fast access to a qualified counsellor, bypassing other organisations' waiting lists
What I offer:
- 6 sessions of online counselling that the employee can access weekly at a time to suit them, paid for by the company at the standard service rate of £50 per session.
- Further counselling sessions if they want it (self funded) to continue straight after the initial 6, with no waiting lists.
- Unlike organisations with EAP schemes, there is no upfront or monthly fee to use my service, and no contract tying you in. Simply contact me to make use of the service.
- Also unlike EAPs, I do not have a standard approach to all clients, to tackle potentially complex person issues in a solution focused way. As an integrative counsellor, I always tailor my approach to suit the individual needs of the client. If your employee needs solution focused, or CBT counselling, I can offer that. If they actually need more of a listening ear and a gentler, more person-centred approach, that is also fine.
How does it work?
When you have an employee who would like to take up the offer of 6 online counselling sessions, simply invite them to email me directly.
I will require written confirmation from the employer separately that they intend to pay for all sessions (up to max 6) on behalf of the employee. The employee is not required to make use of all 6 if they do not want to. The employer only pays for the sessions the employee makes use of.
Payment from the organisation needs to clearly reference the employee's name and be paid in advance of the session to confirm the appointment.
No details of the contents of these sessions will be shared with the employer.
I have my own standard counselling agreement, which I will share with the employee, with regards to confidentiality and professional boundaries.
I can supply written confirmation of the date of the sessions for your bookkeeping records.
In order to be tax deductible, the counselling must be for welfare issues, such as bereavement, ill health or stress, problems at work, sexual abuse or personal relationship difficulties, and be offered equally to all employees. (See the .gov website for more info)
Still have questions?
Fill in the contact form or email me.
You can also pass this email on to your employee to contact me directly.