Mental Health Gains Prominence in the EU and UK: Some Key Employment Law Changes from 2022
- Project iCare
- Aug 9, 2022
- 3 min read
Mental health is gaining prominence, especially in jurisdictions such as the EU and UK. The following are some noteworthy legal developments that support and promote mental health awareness in these jurisdictions.
Landmark EU-Level Developments:
The now effective Work-life balance Directive by the EU aims to improve families’ access to family leave and flexible work arrangements. This has entered into European Union law and must now be adopted by the Member States.
The Directive introduces these key new rights that promote adequate work-life balance and ensure employee's mental health and wellbeing:
Fathers/equivalent second parents will be able to take at least 10 working days of paternity leave, paid at least at the level of sick pay. Member States can make paternity pay subject to a six-month service qualification, but paternity leave itself will be a day 1 right.
A strengthened right to parental leave. EU law already provides a right to four months of unpaid parental leave but, under the Directive, two out of the four months of parental leave will become paid and non-transferable from one parent to the other. Although the level of pay is set by the Member State, it must facilitate the take-up of parental leave by both parents. Workers will be able to request to take parental leave in flexible ways (e.g. requests to take the leave on a part-time basis, in chunks of leaves separated by periods of work).
Introduction of 5 days carers' leave per year. This will be unpaid, though the Commission had originally proposed the right to paid leave. A “carer” for these purposes means a worker providing personal care or support to a relative or person living in the same household and who is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason, to be defined in more detail by the Member States.
Extension of the existing right to request flexible working arrangements to all working parents of children up to at least 8 years old, and all carers. Workers will have the right to request temporary flexible working arrangements and the right to revert to their original working pattern at the end of the temporary period. Member States can impose a six-month service qualification.
Member States have three years to implement the new rights but are allowed an additional two years (so five years in total) to bring in the right to pay for the last two weeks of paid parental leave.
2. European Parliament's Recommendations on the "Right to Disconnect" :
The ‘right to disconnect’ refers to the right of employees to refrain from professional activity (answering phones, checking e-mails or replying to instant messages) after working hours. This has now been accepted and incorporated as law in several Member States including the UK.
There are two key areas of mental health in which U.K. employers have clear legal requirements:
(a) Employers cannot discriminate against any employee (or candidate) with a mental health illness that classifies as a disability; and
(b) Employers must carry out a risk assessment for stress at work, and take action based on their findings.
Landmark UK-Level Developments:
This Discussion Paper ('Paper') is a part of the government's commitment to improving mental health and well-being outcomes, particularly for people who experience worse outcomes than the general population. This is a key part of the UK Government’s commitment to ‘level up’, and address unequal outcomes and life chances across the country. This Paper calls for evidence to ask the public a range of questions to help develop the new plan.
If an employee has a mental health issue, it's important their employer takes it seriously. For example, it's a good idea to talk to the employee to find out what support they might need at work.
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