90% want of mental health first aiders want training made law - but who picks up the bill?

90% of mental health first aiders want training made a legal requirement – but small businesses are asking who picks up the bill.

Mental Health First Aid England has unveiled nine new workplace standards ahead of World Mental Health Day on Saturday, 10 October, shaped by input from more than 100,000 members of its first aider association.

The findings reveal that 90% believe mental health first-aid training should be a legal requirement in every workplace.

According to the research, one in four employers lost a member of staff due to poor mental health in the past year, while 74% believe better support could have stopped them leaving. In addition, 3% had an employee off long-term with mental health problems.

While many business owners agree workplace mental health support is vital, one expert pointed out to Newspage: but who will pay for the training?

Debbie Porter, Managing Director at Bakewell-based Destination Digital Marketing, commented: "90% of mental health first aiders might well want this training to be made law, but I would ask how many of them would want it to be law if they had to pay to be a first-aider? 

"Would it still be 90%, or would they say 'not out of my pocket!'? For small business owners, this is effectively what will happen if legislation gets passed to make it a mandatory requirement. 

"And it will be the small business owner that will often become the mental health first aider, adding to the burden they already carry. 

"With being financial controller, HR, programme manager, team leader, strategist, office manager, marketing and a dozen other jobs they already assume. Would you really want your mental health first aider to be carrying a huge mental load already? 

"Or would that just feel like lip service? Mental health awareness, and securing the happiness of your employees is so very important, but where is the cash coming from to pay for the training? And who is looking after the small business owner?"

Another expert warns that without government funding, small businesses face another added cost. 

Kate Underwood, Founder & Chief People Strategist at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR & Training, said: "I'm all for the standards. Mental health first aid done properly saves jobs, and sometimes a good deal more than jobs. But let's talk about who pays, because nobody ever does. In a firm of nine the mental health first aider is also the fire marshal, the payroll clerk and the one who orders the milk. 

"That's the owner. Make the training a legal duty and don't fund it and you haven't created support, you've created another certificate for the wall and a bill. 

"If the government wants this, pay for it, the way it expects first aid at work. And here's the question nobody ever asks the small business owner. 

"If you're the person everybody comes to, who do you go to? Most owners I work with have no answer to that, and that's its own quiet little crisis. So back the standards, absolutely. Then train somebody other than yourself, and sort out your own support before you need it."

While mental health support in the workplace is essential, any move to make training compulsory must come with proper funding, according to one expert. 

Small business owner Tony Sanchez, Founder at Bridging Loan Directory, commented: "As a small-business owner, I would want any legal requirement to come with a practical answer to who pays, who covers the time spent training and where the first aider turns when someone needs professional help.

"Mental health deserves proper attention, but a certificate alone cannot make an owner equipped to handle every problem. 

"The role needs clear boundaries and access to support. If government makes training compulsory, I would favour funded or subsidised provision for the smallest firms. Employers should give people paid time to train and use what they learn.

"The owner’s wellbeing matters too. In a small business, there may be nobody else to absorb the pressure when work, finances and personal responsibilities collide. Any approach that expects the owner to support everyone else should also consider who supports them."

But one expert says a legal duty would go further than the rules for physical first aid.

Harvey Dhillon, Founder & CEO at Zmartly, commented: "It's a bad idea to make mental health first aid training a legal duty for every small firm. Physical first aid, the model it's being compared with, doesn't go that far. HSE guidance says some small low-risk workplaces need only a first-aid box and an appointed person, who needs no specific first-aid training. 

"Whether it becomes law or not, the cost should sit with the employer, where the first-aid rules already put the duty, and staff can't be charged for first aid the law requires. 

"And it isn't as unfunded as it sounds. Training a member of staff is normally tax-deductible for the business, so the taxman already picks up part of the bill at the firm's own tax rate. 

"The catch is that a loss-making firm may have to wait for the relief, and it's least certain when the owner goes on the course. So if you're paying for it either way, send a member of staff rather than going yourself."

ENDS