Stress Risk Assessments at Work: What Employers Must Do

Yes, your employer has to think about stress. In the UK, employers have a legal duty to assess the risks to their employees' health at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is clear that this includes the risk of work-related stress. A stress risk assessment means the employer looks at what in the job might be causing harmful pressure, then does something reasonable about it. It applies to small firms as well as large ones, though very small employers face lighter paperwork.

If you are an employee, you can ask for one, and you do not need a diagnosis first. If you are a small employer, you do not need a consultant or a special form. You need an honest conversation, a written record of what you agreed, and a date to check whether it worked. The rest of this page explains how to do that properly. It also covers what to do if things have gone past the point where a form will help.

What the law actually says

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 gives employers in Great Britain a general duty to protect their employees' health, safety and welfare, so far as is reasonably practicable. In Northern Ireland, similar duties come from the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, and the regulator is HSENI. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 then require employers to assess the risks and act on what they find. Health includes mental health. HSE, the regulator, treats work-related stress like any other hazard: identify it, assess it, control it, review it.

A few practical points:

• Writing it down. An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings of a risk assessment. Smaller employers still have to assess the risk. They just do not have to write it down, although it is sensible to.
• Workplace-wide and individual. HSE expects a general look at stress risks across the workplace. When one person is struggling, it also makes sense to look at their situation in particular. Both are useful, and neither replaces the other.
• Reasonable, not perfect. The duty is to do what is reasonably practicable. No employer is expected to remove all pressure from work. They are expected to spot pressure that is likely to make people ill and deal with it.

Stress itself is not a medical condition. Long periods of it can, though, contribute to anxiety, depression and physical health problems. Someone may have a mental health condition that counts as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (in Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). If so, their employer also has a duty to make reasonable adjustments, which is covered below. For the exact wording of the law and what HSE expects, check the HSE stress pages and legislation.gov.uk.

HSE's Management Standards in plain English

Many UK employers use HSE's Management Standards as their framework, and HSE recommends them. They group the main causes of work-related stress into six areas. These six are a good place to start if you are trying to work out why a job is getting on top of you, or on top of your staff.

1. Demands

This covers workload, pace, hours and the work environment. Examples include too much to do in the time, constant interruptions, unrealistic deadlines, noise, lone working and emotionally heavy work. Too little to do also counts, because it wears people down in its own way.

2. Control

This is how much say you have in how you do your work. Being told exactly what to do and when, with no room to plan your own day, is often more stressful than a busy job you can organise yourself.

3. Support

This is the encouragement, resources and help you get from your manager and colleagues. It includes training, someone to ask when you are stuck, and a manager who actually notices.

4. Relationships

This covers conflict, bullying, harassment and other unacceptable behaviour, and whether there are fair ways to deal with them. It often sits underneath problems that look like workload.

5. Role

This is whether you understand what is expected of you, and whether different people are asking you for conflicting things. An unclear role leaves people working hard on the wrong things and feeling they are always failing.

6. Change

This is how change is managed and explained, such as restructures, new systems, new managers or rumours of redundancy. Change itself is less of a problem than being kept in the dark about it.

A good stress risk assessment works through all six, not just the obvious one. Take someone signed off with 'workload'. They may also have a manager who changes priorities daily (role) and a colleague who undermines them (relationships). Fixing the workload alone will not hold.

Individual stress risk assessments and talking toolkits

When one person is struggling, many employers use an individual stress risk assessment. Some call it a wellness action plan or a stress conversation. HSE publishes free 'talking toolkits' for exactly this. They give a manager structured prompts built around the six Management Standards, so they can hold a sensible conversation without being an expert. HSE also has a short questionnaire that organisations can use to survey staff more widely.

The format matters less than what happens next. A good individual assessment usually:

1. Happens in private, at a sensible time. Not in a corridor, not straight after a difficult meeting, and not as part of a disciplinary or performance process.
2. Goes through each of the six areas. It covers what is going well, what is causing pressure and what the person thinks would help.
3. Separates work causes from outside ones. Pressures at home matter, and a decent employer will be flexible about them. The risk assessment, though, is about what work can change.
4. Agrees specific actions. 'Reduce workload' is not an action. 'Move the weekly report to another team from next month' is.
5. Says who will do what, and by when.
6. Is written down and shared. Both people should have a copy.
7. Has a review date. This is often a few weeks later, then at regular intervals. Pressures shift, and the plan should shift with them.

Signs it is not being done well

• It is a tick-box form you are asked to fill in alone and hand back.
• Every answer leads to a relaxation app or a resilience course, and nothing about the job changes. Wellbeing offers are fine, but HSE's approach is to tackle causes at source.
• Agreed actions never happen and the review date keeps slipping.
• It seems to be building a case against you rather than helping.

If any of that is happening, raise it in writing. You could also talk to HR or a union representative if you have one. Acas offers free, impartial advice on workplace rights.

How to ask for a stress risk assessment

You do not need to be off sick or have a diagnosis. You can ask whenever work is affecting your health. Asking early, before you reach crisis point, usually goes better for everyone.

• Put it in writing. A short email to your manager or HR is enough. Something like: 'Work has been affecting my health recently and I would like to request a stress risk assessment so we can look at what might help. Could we set up a meeting in the next couple of weeks?'
• Prepare a few notes. Jot down what has been hard under the six headings above, with one or two concrete examples for each. Examples beat adjectives.
• Think about what would help. Managers find it easier to act on suggestions. Examples include a day a week without meetings, clearer priorities, a different reporting line, changed start times or a named person to go to.
• Ask to bring someone. Your employer may not have to allow a companion at an informal meeting, but many will if you ask.
• Keep copies. Keep your request, the assessment and any follow-up.

If your manager is part of the problem, ask HR or another senior person to hold the conversation instead.

If you are a small employer

You probably do not have an HR department, and that is fine. HSE's free talking toolkit and example risk assessments work well as templates. Be honest about what you can and cannot change in a small team, and say so. Small employers can often be more flexible than big ones, for example by moving hours, swapping tasks or changing how work comes in. Write down what you agreed, even with fewer than five staff, and actually hold the review.

Linking it to adjustments, occupational health and phased returns

A stress risk assessment often overlaps with other processes. They work best when they are joined up.

• Reasonable adjustments. Stress may be linked to a condition such as anxiety, depression, ADHD or autism. If that condition has a substantial and long-term effect on day-to-day life, it may count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Your employer must then consider reasonable adjustments. Our guide to reasonable adjustments at work gives examples. Many of the same changes are sensible even where the legal duty does not apply.
• Occupational health. If the picture is complicated, your employer may refer you to occupational health. They give independent advice on what you can manage and what would help. See what happens at an occupational health referral.
• Fit notes. If you are off sick for more than seven days, you will usually need a fit note. The 'may be fit for work' option lets the person issuing it suggest changes, such as different hours or duties. See our guide to fit notes.
• Phased returns. Coming back after stress-related absence is the moment to redo the risk assessment. The job you return to needs to be different from the one that made you ill. Our guide to planning a phased return to work explains how.

The government's Access to Work scheme also offers mental health support for some people in work. Check GOV.UK for current eligibility.

When to see your GP, and when it is more urgent

A risk assessment is about the job. It is not treatment. See your GP if:

• you have felt low, anxious, on edge or unable to cope most days for more than a couple of weeks
• you are not sleeping, not eating properly, or relying more on alcohol or other substances to get through
• you have physical symptoms such as headaches, palpitations or stomach problems, which need checking rather than being put down to stress
• you are struggling to function at work or at home

Chest pain needs urgent attention. Call 999 if it is sudden, severe, or spreading to your arm, jaw or back.

In England you can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression without seeing a GP first. Our guide to getting mental health support in the UK explains the routes.

If you feel you might harm yourself, or you are thinking about ending your life, get help now. Call 999 or go to A&E if you are in immediate danger. For urgent help that is not an emergency, call NHS 111. In England you can choose the mental health option. You can also call Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. You do not have to be at crisis point to call them.

Where an occupational therapist fits

Occupational therapists look at the fit between a person, what they need to do, and where they do it. With work-related stress, that can help in a few specific ways:

• breaking down the actual demands of a job and matching them against what someone can manage right now, which turns vague advice into specific adjustments
• planning a graded return to work that builds up hours and tasks sensibly
• practical strategies for energy, pacing, routines, sleep and structuring the working day, especially where stress sits alongside ADHD, autism, chronic pain or long-term fatigue
• assessing the work environment, including noise, interruptions and sensory load
• writing a clear functional report that an employer, occupational health team or HR can act on

Some occupational therapists work in occupational health teams. Others work privately and can visit you at home or assess your workplace. You can read more on our work and ergonomics page.

Occupational therapists also have limits. They cannot carry out your employer's legal duty for them, because the employer is responsible for the risk assessment and for acting on it. An occupational therapist is not the right person to treat depression or anxiety on their own. That is a job for your GP, NHS Talking Therapies, or a psychologist or psychiatrist. And if the problem is bullying, discrimination or a dispute, HR, a union, Acas or an employment adviser will help more than any therapist.

Frequently asked questions

Is a stress risk assessment a legal requirement?

Employers must assess risks to health at work, and HSE says that includes stress. Employers with five or more staff must record the significant findings. The law does not set out a specific form for individual assessments. HSE does, however, recommend looking at an individual's situation as a practical way to manage the risk when someone is affected.

Can my employer refuse to do one?

They should not ignore a genuine risk to your health. If they refuse or keep delaying, put your concerns in writing and consider a formal grievance. Acas can talk you through your options. HSE's website explains how to raise a health and safety concern, though it generally expects you to raise it with your employer first.

Do I have to tell my employer about my mental health?

Generally, no. Your employer can only act on what they know, though, and they cannot make adjustments for a condition they are unaware of. You can choose how much detail to share. Focusing on how work is affecting you is often enough to get things moving.

What is the difference between a stress risk assessment and a wellness action plan?

They overlap a lot. A stress risk assessment focuses on causes at work and what the employer will change. A wellness action plan is often more personal, covering early warning signs and what helps you stay well. Many workplaces combine the two, which is fine as long as the work causes are actually tackled.

Should I have one before going back after sick leave?

Ideally, yes, before you return or in your first few days back. It should sit alongside any phased return plan and occupational health advice, and be reviewed as your hours build up.

Can stress at work count as a disability?

Stress on its own does not usually count. An underlying condition, such as depression or an anxiety disorder, may count if it has a substantial, long-term effect on everyday life. Whether it qualifies depends on the individual facts. Acas and GOV.UK explain the definition in more detail.

Next steps

If work stress is affecting what you can manage day to day, see our work and ergonomics page, or current guide prices, and choose your area below.