The Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF) has announced its support for the Working Minds campaign, highlighting how mental health issues are the number one reason given for sick days in the UK and that last year almost 18 million working days were lost as a result of stress, anxiety, or depression.

The campaign, led by Health and Safety Executive (HSE), aims to help businesses to recognise the signs of stress and make reaching out and responding to issues routine.

The HSE said: "No worker should suffer in silence and if we don't act now to improve workers' mental wellbeing, this could evolve into a health and safety crisis. The pandemic has highlighted the need to protect the wellbeing of employees who have faced unprecedented challenges; the Government is committed to building back better and we want to make sure good mental health is central to this.

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"Our campaign is focused on giving employers a clear reminder of their duty while championing good mental health at work."

Working Minds' is aimed at specifically supporting small businesses by providing employers and workers with easy to implement advice, including simple steps to reach out, respond, recognise, and reflect to make managing stress risks routine.

Employers and workers wanting to know more about the Working Minds campaign, including the legal obligations, advice, and tools available, should visit: www.workright.campaign.gov.uk/working-minds.