Campaign aims to create a climate of disapproval about discrimination
against those with mental health problems
The Government is to undertake wide-ranging research into the attitudes of
employers towards mental health in the workplace in an effort to crack down on
discrimination against those who suffer from mental health conditions.
A campaign is to be run in conjunction with the Industrial Society and
communications consultancy The Forster Company, and will include research into
attitudes towards mental health in the private, public and voluntary sectors.
It is designed to find out more about how mental health is perceived,
discriminated against and how people with mental health problems are treated at
work
The campaign will kick off during May and June and will also offer employers
a "toolkit" to help them identify and combat mental health
discrimination in the workplace.
Researchers will visit a range of employers to talk about their experiences,
both positive and negative, and the report drawn up from this will be a key
part of the campaign.
The Mind Out for Mental Health campaign was launched by Health Minister John
Hutton, who said: "This will be an innovative campaign, involving a wide
range of employers. It aims to encourage retailers and business leaders
actively to stand up for people with mental health problems.
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"We want to create a climate of public disapproval towards
discrimination against those with mental health problems, in a way similar to
the changes in public opinion over such issues as racism and sexism."
According to government figures, one in four people in the UK will
experience a mental health problem of some kind during their lives, with about
70 per cent saying they have experienced some form of discrimination.
