To mark World Mental Health Awareness Day on 10 October, Remploy announces that it has supported more than 8,500 people struggling with mental ill health, helping them to them find work or to stay in their job. Remploy is a leading provider of specialist employment and skills support for people with disabilities or health conditions.
Gareth Parry, Remploy Chief Executive said: “Mental Health Awareness Day is a good opportunity to talk about mental health in the workplace which should always be at the top of the agenda. Every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem and better mental health support in the workplace could save UK businesses up to £8 billion a year.”
Through its Access to Work Workplace Mental Health Support Service, Remploy provides free and confidential support to anyone with mental health problems which are threatening their job. The Service, is delivered by a team of trained and experienced professionals and has achieved an over 93% success rate of people retaining their employment six months after joining the programme. In addition, Remploy offers a support service for apprentices who find that their mental health is a barrier.
Gareth continued: “We continue to see an increase in the number of people accessing our mental health services, so it is clear that people are becoming more comfortable talking about their challenges. We need to build on this and make sure mental health support is available for all UK businesses and their employees.”
Greg McGahan, aged 44 from Hyde in Manchester, used the Workplace Mental Health Support Service while he was struggling with mental health issues and trying to balance his work and family-life. With several major changes at work and what felt like an unmanageable workload, Greg began to show signs of stress and was unsure of his future.
Greg said: “When I first contacted Remploy I had been off work for a month due to stress. I was thinking about leaving my job but, with my marriage already under strain I didn’t want to lose my house and more importantly my family.”
Greg worked with his Remploy Vocational Rehabilitation Coach to identify coping strategies, put reasonable adjustments in place with his employer, and create a tailored work plan.
Greg added: “I have a settled working life again now and a positive outlook. My coach’s support and assistance was priceless. Remploy has enabled me to feel comfortable in my workplace again and I’m forever grateful!”
For more information about the free Access to Work Workplace Mental Health Support Service, contact Remploy on 0300 456 8114 or visit remploy.co.uk/mentalhealth.
