FOUR major employers, which between them have more than 8,000 staff, have joined with Scotland’s See Me programme to tackle mental health stigma.
The efforts of ScotRail, Apex Hotels, engineering company Babcock and commercial law firm Burness Paull have been highlighted by See Me to coincide with World Mental Health Day today. See Me said the four employers had joined with its programme to “highlight the potential impact of mental health stigma and discrimination in work and ensure staff feel supported when they are struggling”.
It added that the employers had signed up to an eight-month process to “analyse their policies and practices in relation to mental health, to challenge discrimination and improve the working lives of employees with mental health problems”.
Tamar Tammes, managing partner at Burness Paull, said: “We are committed to helping and supporting everyone in the firm to improve their working lives and to ensuring staff feel supported when they’re struggling. That is why we’re very much looking forward to working with See Me, sharing our experiences and learning from the other employers involved.”
Alison Atack, President of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “I’m very pleased to see that one of our law firms is among the group of leading employers taking part in the See Me programme.”
She added: “Many solicitors are drawn to the intellectual challenge and thrive on the high pressure that a legal career entails, but with this high pressure can come stress. We know that one in five solicitors experience a mental health issue at some stage in their career, so it’s crucial that we all work to remove any stigma and discrimination and ensure that people can find help when they need it.”
See Me is managed by the Scottish Association for Mental Health and the Mental Health Foundation, and funded by the Scottish Government and Comic Relief.
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