April marks Stress Awareness Month 2025

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Working Minds campaign has called on employers to support workers mental health during Stress Awareness Month.

Preventing work-related stress isn’t just the right thing to do by workers, it’s the law!

All employers are required to prevent work related stress to support good mental health in the workplace. However, legislation covering stress at work is surprisingly piecemeal, there is not one piece of law that covers it. Instead, protection comes from a wide range of regulations to find out more please visit: https://www.stress.org.uk/legal-requirements/

There are six main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly. These are: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Factors like skills and experience, age, or disability may all affect someone’s ability to cope.

Recognising the signs of stress can help prevent serious mental and physical health problems, as well as reduce absence in the workplace. According to the NHS, common symptoms include:

Physical Symptoms

• Headaches or dizziness
• Muscle tension and body aches
• Stomach issues
• Chest pain or rapid heartbeat
• Fatigue and sleep disturbances

Mental Symptoms

• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling overwhelmed or anxious
• Increased irritability
• Indecisiveness and forgetfulness
• Persistent worrying

In high-risk workplaces, these symptoms can increase the likelihood of accidents, making stress management an essential part of health and safety compliance.

Britain’s bosses are being invited to follow five simple steps to prevent and reduce stress in their workplace. Over the course of the month, employers are encouraged to focus on one of the campaign’s 5 R's, for each of the five weeks.

• Reach out and have conversations
• Recognise the signs and causes of stress
• Respond to any risks identified by agreeing action points
• Reflect on the actions taken – have things improved?
• Make it Routine to check back in on how things are going

Although employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work, diagnosing and treating stress isn’t your responsibility. Your responsibility is to identify the risks of stress and act on them.  

By booking one of our First Aid for Mental Health courses or attending one of our open courses you can help support your employees and colleagues by knowing how to recognise the signs and symptoms of stress, which can be one of the common causes of Mental Health problems. You will also learn how to manage this within the workplace, as well as how to support those that need it.