74 • BUSINESSNEWS
PROUD SPONSORS
OF THIS PAGE
MENTAL HEALTH ‘LEFT OUT’ OF
WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Employers are still not recognising the importance
of mental health in their health and safety
policies, a safety consultant has said.
» » PAUL MAKOFF-CLARK, MANAGING
director at Kent Safety Solutions, a quality,
health, safety and environmental (QHSE)
consultancy, warned that employers are
failing to consider the impact of mental
health as part of their health and safety
procedures, despite the significant
number of working days lost due to stress
and other mental health-related issues.
Statistics from the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) indicate there were
approximately 12 million days lost due to
stress, depression and anxiety in 2015/16.
Although there is a legal requirement
for organisations to have health and safety
procedures in place, many employers
focus just on the safety aspect when
implementing policies and carrying out
risk assessments.
Paul Makoff-Clark said: “Safety controls
are relatively straightforward to implement.
But mental health is much more difficult
to consider from a risk perspective due
to the difficulties posed by pre-existing
health conditions, less evident risks and
potentially longer-term consequences.
“Mental health, particularly stress, is
being left out of health and safety processes
such as risk assessments. With many
credit-crunch roles remaining unfilled
and one person taking on additional
responsibilities along with time-fixed
deadlines so prevalent in many industries,
especially construction, work-related stress
is responsible for a phenomenal number of
days lost due to absence.”
His comments followed the national
launch of Mental Health Awareness Week
last month, which this year focused on
thriving with good mental health.
Makoff-Clark added: “The HSE has
excellent – and free – tools for testing and
monitoring stress at work, yet these tools
are sadly underutilised.
“Sadly, mental health is still not
embedded in an organisation’s everyday
thinking – it’s just not considered in risk
assessments. Very few employers are
asking, ‘how do I avoid damaging my
employees’ mental health because of
workplace stress?’ and they absolutely
should be.”
Kent Safety Solutions, launched in 2014,
is a leader in safety management and
training, quality and the environment. It
provides a range of management systems
including health and safety, IS09001
and ISO14001 and provides advice
and guidance on the latest regulations
including CDM 2015.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
NEW TERRITORY MANAGER
FOR THE SOUTH EAST NAMED
Security specialists Yale has announced
the appointment of Veronica Adams as
Territory Manager for the South-East region,
reinforcing its focus on strengthening its
support network for trade customers.
» » VERONICA BRINGS WITH HER A
wealth of expertise and experience to her
new role at Yale, particularly through her
previous role at Mia Hardware, which had a
strong involvement in the security sector.
Her last position as Area Sales Manager
for the South East will stand her in good
stead for her new role, which will see
her working on trade contracts for both
housing and local authorities, covering all
Yale’s product ranges.
Speaking of the new appointment,
Nigel Fisher, Managing Director at Yale,
said: “Veronica’s experience will be highly
beneficial in strengthening our network
with trade customers, and thanks to her
knowledge and expertise we know she will
be a great addition to the Yale team.”
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAY/JUN 2017
Sponsored by Insafe International
Discussing her new role, Veronica,
who lives in Kent, said: “I’m really
looking forward to starting on this new
adventure at Yale – I’m sure there will be
lots of exciting times ahead and I’m glad
that I can be a part of the future of the
business”.
www.yale.co.uk