On Blue Monday, conversations around mental health come into focus. It’s a timely reminder for employers to support employee wellbeing while understanding the legal risks that can arise if issues are not handled properly.
What is Blue Monday?
Blue Monday is more than just a date on the calendar, largely because of the wider conversations it has sparked about wellbeing at this time of year and what it represents in culture and conversation. The idea of Blue Monday first appeared in 2005 as part of a marketing campaign, and whilst not backed by research, it has endured as a reflection of the challenges many people experience at this point in the year. The darker, colder days, and emotional dip following the festive season contributes to the idea of Blue Monday. Some mental health organisations have used Blue Monday as a springboard for mental health conversations, in raising awareness of Seasonal Affective Disorder and showing that many people struggle at this time of year.
Blue Monday resonates in the workplace as a time when many employees may experience winter gloom, financial stress, or low motivation, bringing mental health and wellbeing into sharper focus. Employers can use this awareness as a springboard to provide meaningful, year-round support while fulfilling their duty of care.
When staff are stressed, depressed or just disengaged, productivity and morale can suffer. Employees who feel unsupported are more likely to be absent, take more sick leave, and struggle to maintain their usual performance. By embedding ongoing wellbeing initiatives, organisations can help employees stay engaged, healthy, and productive throughout the year, not just on Blue Monday.
The Legal Landscape: Employer duties around mental health
Employers have a legal and ethical duty of care to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of their employees. Mental health should be treated with the same seriousness as physical health. Conditions like anxiety or depression can develop gradually or suddenly, be difficult to recognise, and fluctuate over time, so regular, open communication and timely adjustments are essential to help employees maintain wellbeing and perform effectively.
Under the Equality Act 2010, a mental health condition can qualify as a disability if it has a substantial adverse effect on daily life and lasts or is expected to last 12 months or more. Employers must not discriminate, directly or indirectly, based on mental health, and, where a disability exists, employers have a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments, such as flexible hours, relaxed sickness absence thresholds or removing other workplace barriers. Understanding how an employee’s mental health can affect them is essential for creating inclusive, supportive workplaces.
Employers who fail to meet their duty of care may face discrimination claims. If such a claim succeeds, an employer could face uncapped compensation, including loss of earnings and injury to feelings, and may be required to put adjustments in place. In some situations, poor handling of mental health issues can also lead to claims for constructive or unfair dismissal. Beyond the legal risk, these disputes can be expensive, time-consuming and harmful to an organisation’s reputation.
For more information on avoiding discrimination in the workplace please visit our website for further articles: Avoiding discrimination in the workplace: what you need to know
Reducing legal risk while supporting staff
Having clear policies and procedures isn’t just good practice, it is a fundamental way for you to mitigate legal and organisational risk by setting expectations and demonstrating compliance with your duties. By identifying the risks, completing a risk assessment and implementing a mitigation plan in the form of mental health policies, employers can set clear expectations of all employees and create a safe environment and maximise their opportunity for early responses to any potential legal risk that could arise.
Key policies, which can help to demonstrate legal compliance and support employee wellbeing (if proactively implemented) include:
- Mental health and wellbeing policy.
- Work health and safety policy.
- Bullying, harassment and discrimination policy.
- Reasonable adjustments policy; and
- Critical incident and crisis response procedures.
Bolstering these policies and procedures with adequate training of staff helps employees to understand their obligations in supporting those who may be dealing with mental health challenges.
Practical ways employers can support mental health
Rather than treating Blue Monday as a one-off day on which to support mental health, employers have the opportunity to use it to highlight long-term wellbeing efforts that outlines their year-round commitment, and in doing so potentially improve employee wellbeing and retention.
Employers can introduce initiatives such as mental health training for managers and the appointment of mental health first aiders or wellbeing champions to provide peer support. Other ways employers can support employee mental health include (but are not limited to):
- Promoting open communication and awareness.
- Providing training and support – well trained managers are better equipped to deal with the sensitivities around mental health (and other) challenges within a workforce and better able to recognise, and comply with, an employer’s legal obligations (including under the Equality Act 2010), which reduces the risk of successful legal claims, including discrimination claims.
- Making wellbeing support practical and accessible – providing counselling access or relaxation spaces at work, which can allow employees to unwind when feeling stressed.
- Offering flexibility and time for recovery – policies such as mental health days and flexible working arrangements.
- Promoting social connection and appreciation – hosting team breakfasts or peer recognition can lift spirits and strengthen relationships.
- Using data to spot (and most importantly to respond to) trends – regular surveys can help identify shifts in mood and/or pockets of unhappiness, allowing early intervention whereby targeted support can be increased (potentially giving the best return on investment).
- Focussing on your culture – creating a culture where people are open about talking about their mental health, which can encourage others to be more forthcoming about what they are dealing with.
By paying attention to changes in staff behaviour and performance, employers (and managers) are presented with an opportunity to spot the early signs of deteriorating mental health in their staff. These warning signs might take the form of shifts in mood and engagement, and/or difficulty concentrating or meeting deadlines. Approaching an employee early with open-minded, non‑judgmental and empathetically inquisitive questions, whilst also offering information about available support, can make a significant difference in addressing issues before they escalate.
Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) offer confidential support and resources for employees dealing with personal or work-related challenges. They also provide practical guidance on common issues affecting mental health, including work–life balance, stress management and coping strategies. EAPs support a healthier, more resilient workforce by reducing absenteeism, improving morale and productivity, and demonstrating a clear commitment to employee wellbeing. With the pressures on the NHS, an EAP that enables access to GP services can be worth its weight in gold for both employers and employees.
Sector-specific considerations
Different sectors may find they face unique challenges in supporting employee mental health. For those who work in healthcare, the long hours, exposure to trauma and staff shortages can make for an extremely difficult working environment. For the food and drink industry, high-pressure service environments paired with long, irregular hours can cause stress at work.
Businesses aiming for B Corp status or continuing to maintain an existing accreditation, are often more purpose driven and committed to their mission. Whilst this is undoubtedly a positive thing, there can be an unhealthy trade-off where, if not carefully managed, this drive and determination can create an environment where employees could feel pressure to take on a higher workload or ‘go the extra mile’, even if already feeling at their limit. This can lead to burnout.
Businesses in the rural sector should train managers to recognise signs of stress and burnout and encourage open, supportive conversations about mental wellbeing, helping to counter isolation and connect staff with appropriate resources.
Charities can benefit from normalising dialogue about mental health, having clear wellbeing policies, and ensuring access to counselling or Employee Assistance Programmes to reduce stigma and build trust.
B Corps can reinforce wellbeing by embedding support into organisational practices and encouraging flexible work arrangements that reflect their values.
In employee-owned organisations, involving staff in designing wellbeing initiatives, sharing regular feedback, and training leaders to model open discussions about mental health can foster a proactive, inclusive culture.
Healthcare employers can offer confidential support such as counselling, stress management training, regular debriefs in high-stress settings, and manager training to promote resilience among front-line workers.
In the food and drink sector, predictable scheduling, workplace flexibility, access to support services, and training supervisors in mental health awareness can help staff balance demanding work and personal wellbeing.
Social housing organisations should encourage open conversations, provide clear mental health policies, and offer professional support while managers check in regularly to ensure employees feel heard and supported.
Ultimately, there will always be some overlap in the appropriate support that can be provided in different sectors / industries but it is important to recognise there is no one size fits all approach to dealing with mental health in the workplace; employers must effectively tailor their policies and training to the realities of their workforce.
Building a culture of wellbeing beyond Blue Monday
Whilst ‘Blue Monday’ is used as a prompt to talk about mental health, the best employers have staff wellbeing at their core and are proactively considering employees’ mental health all year round. Those employers strive to create a sustainable culture of wellbeing, modelled every day to ensure managers (and other employees) are equipped to recognise, and respond to, early signs of mental health issues.
Communication around mental health works most effectively when it is consistent and authentic. Regular, positive communication throughout the year that reinforces key messages around mental health helps to normalise it as a part of everyday work rather than something to be kept in the dark. It is especially important for employers and managers to lead from the front in this messaging, as they play a critical role in setting expectations and embedding wellbeing from the top down. Modelling behaviours such as setting boundaries around working hours and taking breaks models a positive way of working and helps to champion mental health in the workplace.
With around 1 in 4 adults experiencing a diagnosable mental health problem in any given year, and around 1 in 5 children and young people (in 2023) having a probable mental disorder (carrying the potential for parents to need time off work to provide care), it is essential that employers are prepared to support their staff. With the average cost of hiring an employee in the UK estimated to be £6,125, increasing to roughly £19,000 for manager roles, it should also be time and money well spent by employers, steps taken to improve employee welfare being likely to improve staff retention and attract new, talented candidates.
If you wish to discuss anything mentioned in this article, please contact our Employment team, they will be happy to help.