Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

StressFit for WorkMental health conditionsFit notesReturn to work and rehabilitation

Four in 10 fit notes issued for mental health

by Ashleigh Webber 7 Dec 2020
by Ashleigh Webber 7 Dec 2020 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Mental ill health accounted for four in 10 fit notes issued by GPs during the first lockdown in the spring, although fewer fit notes have been issued to workers than the previous year, according to new analysis of NHS Digital data.

NTT Data UK’s analysis of the data covering April to June 2020 found mental and behavioural disorders accounted for 41% (67,105) of all diagnosed fit notes issued. This is compared with a pre-lockdown 12 month average of 35%.

Mental health

CPD: How to build and embed resilience within your workplace

Warning of ‘second pandemic’ of mental ill health

A fifth receive mental health diagnosis after Covid-19 infection

However, the total number of fit notes issued fell by a third (34.1%) to 163,250, compared to the pre-lockdown average for a three-month period.

When it looked at the number of fit notes issued to staff who were still working and had not been furloughed, NTT Data found the decline in the number of fit notes issued was narrower, at 10%.

Vicki Chauhan, head of public services at NTT DATA UK, said: “Employee mental health and wellbeing has always been of crucial importance in the workplace. This research shows that it’s more important now than ever to support our health as lockdown and remote working continues to impact society.

“At NTT DATA we provide our staff with emotional support and coaching by trained mental health first aiders and regularly sharing useful content on mental health management. To promote mindfulness and self-care, we encourage regular breaks during the day and also offer free virtual yoga sessions. Most importantly, we urge our employees to support each other and reach out to their colleagues if they are struggling.

“These are extraordinary times and until we can return to a level of normality, employers must remain conscious of the challenges that remote working poses to mental health and continue to support their staff as this pandemic evolves.”

Ashleigh Webber
Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is editor at OHW+ and HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support. Prior to joining Personnel Today in 2018, she covered the road transport sector for Commercial Motor and Motor Transport magazines, touching on some of the employment and wellbeing issues experienced by those in road haulage.

previous post
Black Lives Matter: How to turn empathy into action
next post
Majority of roles still not advertised as flexible

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Top 10 HR questions July 2022: heatwaves and...

1 Aug 2022

Covid variants and end of furlough led to...

18 Jul 2022

More health professionals to be able to certify...

10 Jun 2022

GPs call for new OH service to relieve...

23 May 2022

Staff with long Covid should be treated as...

1 Mar 2022

Smaller businesses and TUC unite for call to...

18 Feb 2022

Top 10 HR questions January 2022: that extra...

1 Feb 2022

Next joins Ikea and Wessex Water in reducing...

13 Jan 2022

Surprise sick pay changes – what do HR...

7 Jan 2022

Top 10 HR questions December 2021: NHS Covid...

4 Jan 2022

  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today