Mindful Employer

As part of the trust’s commitment to support people with mental ill-health into work, Oxleas has signed up to the MINDFUL EMPLOYER initiative. This aims to increase awareness of mental health at work and provide support for businesses in recruiting and retaining staff. 

The MINDFUL EMPLOYER charter is a voluntary agreement and is part of the social inclusion work plan which relates to the trust as an employer. It will help us to identify where we need to improve support. For example, one of the aims of the charter is to support managers within the trust to effectively manage employees with mental health problems.

When an applicant applies for a job with Oxleas they usually do so online. Applicants are asked if they have a disability that they wish to declare. This part of the application form is confidential and is not shared with the recruiting manager. If the applicant declares a disability and meets the person specification for a job they will be guaranteed interview under the two-tick disability scheme. Oxleas encourages applicants to disclose any disabilities so we can provide the best possible support for their application.

As part of the pre-employment checks, applicants are asked to complete a confidential occupational health questionnaire. If mental health issues are declared, the occupational health team assess the type of support that might be needed and if there any requirements for reasonable adjustments in line with the Disability Discrimination Act (2005). 

In most cases reasonable adjustments can be made in discussion between the applicant, occupational health and the line manager. Occupational health will also take advice from an applicant’s GP and any other healthcare professionals involved. Dialogue between occupational health and a job applicant is entirely confidential and widening the discussion to include the line manager can only be done with the applicant's consent. 

On occasion, occupational health will not be able to provide health clearance for an applicant because of their mental health issues. This may result in a conditional offer of employment being withdrawn. This is very rare, and would not happen without a thorough examination of the issues involved. Recruitment episodes involving applicants who have declared a disability can take time to resolve. However, the recruitment team is committed to working closely with applicants, line managers and occupational health to ensure that applicants declaring a disability are supported  throughout the recruitment process.