Stress Management Policies

 

As an employer you have legal responsibilities for the health and safety of your employees at work.  Increasingly, courts are taking a tougher line with employers who fail to recognise and deal with employee stress.  However, this is not the only reason for taking preventative measures with regard to stress management.

 

A Stress Management Policy will achieve the following:

 

• Demonstrate that you recognise stress as an important Health & Safety issue

• Show your organisation’s commitment to preventing stress as a work place hazard

• Outline what the company will do if stress is an issue

 

 

For a policy to be effective it must be used. At HSC Training we specialise in writing short and targeted policies using plain English. Where possible, we tailor the work to fit in alongside your existing Health & Safety and Human Resource policies.

 

 

Our experience has shown that Manager and Employee guidance notes are a useful way of helping staff to implement the policy. 

 

Managers Guidance Notes 
 

• Clearly outline managerial responsibilities regarding stress.

• Give practical ideas for taking preventative action (e.g. risk assessment, strategic planning).

• Identify ways of managing stress as part of general good management

• Outline procedures for identifying and dealing with stress in individual employees.

 

 

Employee Guidance Notes 

 

• Tell employees what to do if they think or know they are suffering from work related stress.

 

A properly implemented Stress Management Policy will enable an organisation to identify areas for training and raise awareness of stress.