In light of the cost to businesses of mental ill health at work, what support it is providing to cope with this and what plans it has made …

Improving mental health and wellbeing in employment and working life is one of the six priority areas for action under the government''s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing.
This seeks to contribute “ in a range of settings including the workplace
- to the promotion of mental health literacy, to helping to prevent common mental health problems and to supporting those experiencing mental ill-health.
The government funds the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives to offer support and advice to employers free of charge on a wide range of occupational health and safety issues, including workplace mental wellbeing, through a network of workplace advisers, a website and a telephone advice line.
The centre also offers training to employers in Mentally Healthy Workplaces, delivered in partnership with Jobcentre Plus. This was supported recently by a marketing campaign aimed at raising the awareness of employers to the cost to business of sickness absence due to poor mental health.
The centre operates the Healthy Working Lives award scheme. The scheme embeds workplace mental health as a key criterion in achieving an award and also recognises exceptional effort in addressing workplace mental health and wellbeing through the Health Working Lives Mental Health Commendation award.