It’s important that organisations use appropriate language relating to sensitive subjects such as mental health and suicide. Samaritans point out that inappropriate use of language can perpetuate stigma or unhelpfully sensationalise or inadvertently romanticise a suicide death. By understanding the appropriate language to use, organisations can raise awareness around potential mental health issues, begin to tackle stigma around suicide and facilitate positive conversations around mental health. 

We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. How we feel can vary from good mental wellbeing, to difficult feelings and emotions, to severe mental health problems. Mental health, like physical health, can fluctuate on a spectrum from good to poor and we all have times when we feel better or worse. 

Good mental wellbeing is a term that describes a positive state of mind. It enhances resilience and promotes our ability to cope with the day-to-day stresses of life, and helps us to work productively. It enables us to interact positively with others and realise our own potential. When we talk about ‘wellbeing’ in this guide, we are referring primarily to mental wellbeing, while acknowledging that this is also affected by physical health. 

Poor mental health may result from low mood, stress or anxiety. This may be because we’re feeling restless, confused, short-tempered, upset or preoccupied. A mental health problem is when difficult experiences or feelings go on for a long time and affect our ability to enjoy and live our lives in the way we want. This could involve a specific diagnosis from a doctor. For more detailed information on types of mental health problem, see Mind’s guidance. 

Work-related stress is defined by the Health and Safety Executive as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’ at work. Stress, including work-related stress, can be a significant cause of illness. Stress is not a medical diagnosis, but severe stress that continues for a long time may lead to a diagnosis of depression or anxiety, or more severe mental health problems. 

Sustained work-related stress can also lead to feelings of burnout, which the World Health Organization does not classify as a medical condition but defines as: ‘a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 

Feelings of burnout are not necessarily directly associated with triggering thoughts of suicide, but can provide an important context in which such thoughts might further develop. 

Self-harm is when you purposefully hurt yourself as a reaction to adversity, or as a way of trying to cope with very difficult feelings, painful memories or overwhelming situations and experiences. (See Mind guidance for more information.) The UK Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan recognises self-harm as a potential risk factor for suicide, but most people who self-harm will not go on to take their own life. However, all instances of self-harm should be taken seriously. Should self-harm be talked about by an employee, signposting to appropriate medical or psychological therapy services, such as a GP, is advised (see NHS advice). 

Suicide: it’s important to use appropriate terms so there is greater awareness and understanding about suicide. Terms appropriately used to refer to suicide include ‘take one’s life’, ‘death by suicide’, ‘suicide attempt’ and ‘person at risk of suicide’ (see Samaritans guidelines). 

Most of us spend a large part of our waking hours working, and the quality of our working life has a major bearing on our overall health and wellbeing. Work can give us purpose and meaning, and an important sense of belonging and social cohesion.  

Conversely, an unhealthy working environment that causes or exacerbates stress can contribute to poor mental wellbeing.  

There is a high degree of stigma and silence about suicide in society that understandably extends into the workplace. People experiencing mental health issues and/or suicidal feelings may fear losing their job or jeopardising their career, or being seen as incapable or unstable/ unreliable, for example. Managers or employees may be worried that a work colleague is considering suicide from their behaviour or something they have said, so it’s important they know what appropriate action they can take in these circumstances.  

Employers play an important role in creating a supportive mental health environment that recognises, but does not focus solely on, the risk of suicide. This is also about recognising particularly difficult and stressful situations and putting additional care and support in place when needed by employees. Employers’ approach to mental health and wellbeing should expressly address the risk of suicide and incorporate a prevention strategy.  

Not everyone may view suicide as a workplace issue, but people can’t be expected to leave their personal worries at home, and work also has the potential to contribute to someone’s state of mind. Feeling able to bring one’s whole self to work also means feeling able to reach out and share a serious mental health issue and/or suicidal thoughts. If someone is struggling, knowing they can approach a colleague or a manager and be listened to with empathy and without judgement could be the first step in them accessing the help they need. Organisations also need to ensure it provides appropriate support for any individual who listens to someone who’s having suicidal thoughts.  

Employers are in a unique position with respect to their employees, and with that comes responsibility. Aside from a legal duty of care to provide a safe working environment for employees, there’s a strong moral and ethical responsibility on employers to support their health and wellbeing. This includes fostering an environment where mental health is treated with the same importance as people’s physical health, and the culture is one where people feel able to talk about suicidal feelings and seek help.  

One of the most difficult and emotionally challenging situations as an HR professional or manager is dealing with an employee who discloses suicidal thoughts, or has already attempted suicide. This could be a one-off situation, but it’s also possible that someone could have a plan to attempt suicide and/or has enduring thoughts about taking their own life. As an HR professional, you cannot be expected to act as a counsellor, and it’s important that managers also understand this is not their role either. It’s important to have boundaries and know when/how to refer someone to more specialist sources of help where needed. The organisation should make this signposting clear to managers and colleagues in any guidance you disseminate. A core principle is that, if someone is in distress and tells a manager or colleague they are thinking about suicide, your guidance should urge them to contact their GP in the first instance. If the crisis is immediate and someone is in imminent danger of taking their own life, they should dial 999 for an ambulance and not leave them alone. There is further practical guidance below and in our accompanying guide for line managers.  

It’s also important that the organisation is proactive in offering appropriate wellbeing support, such as counselling, to anyone, including managers, HR professionals and employees, who is the recipient of suicidal thoughts from a colleague. 

Employers have a duty of care to their employees, which means that they should take all steps which are reasonably possible to ensure the physical and psychological health, safety and wellbeing of their employees. Legally, employers must abide by relevant health and safety and employment law, as well as the common law duty of care, which is part of the law of negligence.  

Previously the courts said the duty of care owed by the employer did not extend to employee suicide. So historically employers were not liable to relatives for compensation or losses arising from suicide of a member of staff. However, over the years the courts have increasingly accepted that pressure at work affects both physical and mental wellbeing. Case law has progressively established that many aspects, including overwork, accidents, bullying, lack of supervision and pace of work, can lead to mental consequences. These effects range from stress and sleeplessness through to suicide.  

In such cases, the harm suffered must be reasonably foreseeable as if the harm is part of a ‘chain’ that can be traced back to the employer. The legal position now is that, in rare cases, the courts can find that suicide was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of an employer’s breach of duty. In some cases, a direct link can be established between the workplace to many consequences, including depression and suicide. The best way to illustrate this is by a case law example, which is set out below. 

In breach of duty (negligence) cases, one of the things that the relatives of an employee have to show is that the harm suffered was reasonably foreseeable. Previous cases had protected the employer because the suicide was seen as breaking the link between the employer’s breach of duty and the harm suffered.  

The following landmark legal ruling is a good example of how employers can now be held liable for the suicide of an employee, although this remains a rare situation. 

In Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008], the House of Lords said that suicide was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of an employer’s breach of duty.  

Facts: After a serious accident at work, a maintenance engineer for Vauxhall Motorcars suffered severe head injuries, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A machine on the production line had malfunctioned, and the robotic arm used to lift the panels on the press line had struck him on the right side of his head. Most of his ear was severed, requiring several operations, and if he had not instinctively moved his head, he would almost certainly have been killed. Six years later, aged 37, he took his own life by jumping from the top of a multi-storey car park. His widow claimed under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 based on the legal argument that her husband’s physical and psychiatric injuries (including his suicide) were reasonably foreseeable following the accident. The employer admitted that it breached the duty of care to the employee and this had caused the accident but denied liability for the later suicide.  

Issue: The key legal issue was if the deceased employee’s suicide was reasonably foreseeable by the employer or if compensation for the suicide fell outside the scope of the employer’s duty of care. The employee had not had mental health problems before the accident, so how could the employer have foreseen the suicide?  

Decision: On appeal, the court found the employer liable. The personal injury included psychological injury, PTSD and depression, which had been caused by his accident. The issue was not if the suicide was foreseeable but if the kind of harm, including the depression, was foreseeable. The depression could be foreseen; therefore, it was possible to see a direct link from an accident that caused depression to the suicide. There was an unbroken chain between the employer’s breach and the suicide, and the employee’s actions did not break this link. The judges said that: ‘Mr Corr’s suicide was not a voluntary, informed decision taken by him as an adult of sound mind… It was the response of a man suffering from a severely depressive illness which impaired his capacity to make reasoned and informed judgements about his future… It is in no way unfair to hold the employer responsible for this dire consequence of its breach of duty, although it could well be thought unfair to the victim not to do so.’ 

Employers also have a moral and ethical duty not to cause, or fail to prevent, physical or psychological injury, and must fulfil their responsibilities with regard to personal injury and negligence claims. An employer can be deemed to have breached their duty of care by failing to do everything that was reasonable in the circumstances to keep the employee safe from harm. 

Unfair treatment at work, such as discrimination, harassment or bullying, can have a serious effect on people’s mental wellbeing. Employers should have an anti-harassment and bullying policy which interacts with grievance and disciplinary policies and procedures. There should be proactive, trained managers who intervene early to prevent potential harassment or bullying situations and act swiftly if allegations are made.  

Under the Equality Act 2010, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation are ‘protected characteristics’ covered by discrimination law to give people protection against being treated unfairly.  

Employees could be protected under the Equality Act if their mental health condition is a disability. Mental ill health is likely to be a ‘hidden’ disability and many people are reluctant to disclose a condition. It’s good practice for an employer to make adjustments for someone experiencing poor mental health even if they don’t consider they have a disability under the Equality Act. Protection under the Equality Act also extends to those associated with a disabled person and those who are wrongly perceived to be disabled.  

Under the Act, harassment is unlawful and is defined as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual’. The protected characteristics relevant to harassment are age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  

There are two types of harassment related to sex: sexual harassment involves unwanted conduct of a sexual nature; sex-based harassment is a separate form of harassment involving unwanted conduct that is related to an individual’s sex or the sex of another person. In both of these, the unwanted conduct has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. Pregnancy and maternity are not protected directly under the Equality Act harassment provisions; however, such harassment will usually amount to harassment related to sex.  

If an employee successfully shows that the employer has discriminated against them, the amount of compensation that a tribunal can award is unlimited.  

There’s no legal definition of bullying, but Acas says it can include: ‘offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient’. 

 The legal position with respect to workplace bullying is more complex than for harassment because there’s no single piece of legislation that deals with it. Bullying can be covered by a wide range of different legal protections, including breach of the implied terms in an employment contract to take care of employees’ safety and the implied term of mutual trust and confidence. An employer’s legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees also includes protection from bullying at work. By fulfilling their responsibility to provide a safe working environment, and create a working culture free of discrimination, bullying and harassment, employers can also help to reduce some of the potential risk factors for suicide. 

Given that employers should pay particular attention to people who are losing their job, the CIPD’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance on redundancy outlines how employers can approach a redundancy process with compassion and treat everyone with dignity, respect and kindness. Handling redundancy in a humane and compassionate way can make a significant difference to how people cope with the process.  

The effect of Brexit and COVID-19 means the economy is officially entering recession. Many employers and employees are facing worries and uncertainties. These factors are all drivers that could lead to an increase in the number of suicides.  

An employer’s legal obligations (summarised above, including the common law duty of care towards employees and the general duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974) continue to apply throughout the process of terminating employment, especially if the employee is depressed or has other mental health issues. In addition to the claims referred to above, an employee with two years’ service or more will have an unfair dismissal claim if the process is not handled well. Employers need to ensure that there is a genuine redundancy situation, and that a fair procedure is carried out. A failure to inform and consult in collective redundancy situations carries a protective award of 90 days’ gross pay per employee. Employers must recognise it is not only the departing employee who may be affected but also those remaining, and employers must also consider how to support their workforce if a suicide does happen.  

Supporting employees’ mental health is essential for employers to avoid potential liability throughout the redundancy process. Matters to consider include:  

Many people also find it uncomfortable to discuss such a sensitive subject as suicide. This means there are many misconceptions about it. The first step in creating a culture where people are able to seek help if they have suicidal thoughts and are struggling is educating people about the subject. This needs to be done appropriately, with care and sensitivity, as part of building a culture where it’s okay to talk about suicide safely and as part of a wider wellbeing strategy. 

There is no straightforward explanation for why someone may decide to die by suicide, and it’s typically not caused by one particular factor. The reasons why a person may be more at risk of attempting or completing suicide are complex and multifaceted, and cannot be oversimplified.  

‘What lies behind the decision to end one’s life is not fully understood. Nevertheless, it is well recognised that a range of complex factors influence this behaviour. Indeed, a past history of suicidal behaviour or self-harm is one of the strongest predictors of death by suicide.’  

Source: British Psychological Society 

It has long been debated whether or not suicide is inevitably linked to mental health problems. Some believe that suicide can be a rational and thought-through choice in the context of challenging personal circumstances, such as terminal illness. This is much debated.  

‘Mental health problems are important influences, as well as alcohol and substance misuse, feeling desperate, helpless or without hope.’  

Source: Samaritans 

Suicide is more common in some groups than others. Samaritans’ research and ONS data show that dying by suicide is much more common among men than women across all age groups: men from the lowest social class, living in the most deprived areas, were much more likely to end their lives by suicide compared with those in the highest social class from the most affluent areas. Middle-aged men are the age group most at risk. That is not to say, however, that women experience suicidal thoughts less than men. The statistics around suicide deaths are explained by a number of reasons, including that men are less likely to seek support as early as women, are more likely to ‘bottle things up’, and if they do have suicidal intention can select a method that is more likely to result in their death.  

Some occupations are at particularly high risk of suicide. It’s important that, in those occupational settings (as described below), attention is given to responding to the specific risk factors that might be present, for example availability of means. According to ONS research, the following settings have been identified at highest risk:  

However, all organisational settings need to be vigilant to the potential for suicide risk.  

Attempting to explain suicide by occupation is also complex, as it’s likely that a number of factors act together to increase risk. The ONS outlines some broad reasons why an occupation may carry a high risk of suicide, including:  

Risks also include impulsivity (how quickly we are likely to act on emotional challenges or changes) and disinhibition (for example, alcohol or drug use can lead us to act in ways we would ordinarily not do). 

The Business in the Community’s Suicide Prevention Toolkit for employers in association with Public Health England further outlines some broad factors that increase the risk that someone will die by suicide. As well as mental health and psychological/attitudinal factors, there’s a range of other factors, such as: 

However, risk factors should not be misinterpreted as warning signs. How specific risk factors and life events impact on one individual is a unique and complex process, and suicide is not predictable in that sense. As such, suicide is one of the most difficult behaviours to predict. Many people will experience the risk factors for suicide and never go on to take their own life, but it’s important to understand the risk factors, to help think about your employees and who may be most at risk. 

Mind’s guidance on suicidal feelings says that everyone’s experience of suicidal feelings is unique to them. Struggling to cope with certain difficulties in your life can cause you to feel suicidal. It highlights a long list of work- and non-work-related events and circumstances, including: 

Being aware of the potential risk factors for suicide and understanding that people are affected by circumstances and events inside and outside work, organisations can create the culture and support to help employees who may be facing difficult issues. 

The latest suicide statistics are made available on the ONS website, usually reporting on the previous year. Important facts and evidence that can help us to understand, and talk about, suicide at work include: 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, attention has been drawn to the need for awareness and support in relation to the potential increased risk of mental ill health and suicide among health and social care workers. NHS organisations have collaborated to provide a wide range of emotional, practical and psychological support for NHS and social care workers, including:  

An employer can raise awareness about suicide among employees and communicate the important fact that some suicides are preventable, and highlight key sources of professional help. Many people worry that mentioning suicide to someone may encourage that individual to attempt suicide, but this is not the case, as the Business in the Community/Public Health England make clear in their myth-busting toolkit: ‘Talking about suicide will not put the idea in someone’s mind, but it will make the topic less taboo.’  

Furthermore, individuals who have been experiencing suicidal thoughts will often say what a relief it was to be able to discuss what they were experiencing. The experience of mental health workers tends to be that asking about suicide will, at worst, leave the level of risk unchanged; at best, it will be a critical factor in making it less likely. As such, the key guidance is to always ask about suicidal thoughts if they are suspected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the signs of suicide are often not always visible, but urges employers to pay particular attention to people who are losing their job. This is particularly relevant at the current time, given the large-scale redundancies predicted during the economic recession (see the section on redundancy below).  

The WHO lists other warning signs to look out for, such as:  

The symptoms that could be associated with someone having suicidal thoughts are not definitive on their own, but could still show that someone is struggling to cope and needs help.  

It’s about noticing that someone’s behaviour changes by comparison with what has been typically experienced. Warning signs might be different for everyone, but having a good relationship with your employee, and the ability to recognise change in behaviour, can prompt a conversation about whether they’re okay. Line managers play a key role and how they should approach this is covered later.  

Conversely, many people won’t show any warning signs and will do their best to conceal how they are feeling. Nonetheless, being alert to potential indicators could help to build up a picture of concern for that person’s welfare. Some of the warning signs and changes can include:  

However, just as it’s important to understand that someone thinking about suicide may not show any visible signs, it’s also important to recognise that if an individual does show some of the above signs, it’s not necessarily because they are feeling suicidal. 

Many of the elements that create a mentally healthy workplace, such as effective stress risk management, an open culture around mental health and good people management practices, will lay the groundwork for an employer’s response to suicide risk, as a supportive and positive culture is key to offering the right support.  

Establishing an effective organisational framework to support good mental health should include fostering an environment where people can talk about how they feel. This kind of culture should help to tackle the silence and stigma around suicide and hopefully encourage people to talk about suicide concerns and seek help. 

Establishing a mental health framework that encourages good mental health, and supports people appropriately if they experience mental ill health, should encompass a number of key areas. 

It’s important that an organisation’s chosen OH service and EAP provider can offer appropriate support from trained professionals for people experiencing mental health issues. If an organisation does not have access to OH services or an EAP, they could still consider providing appropriate counselling support for an employee who needs it. There are also a number of mental health charities that provide helplines and other support, including Samaritans (see Further resources, below). If someone is experiencing suicidal thoughts, the organisation should signpost them to their doctor, GP or specialist mental health services. 

The CIPD/Mind People Managers’ Guide to Mental Health provides comprehensive practical advice on how to develop a mentally healthy workplace. It contains information, practical advice and templates to help managers facilitate conversations about stress and mental health issues and put in place support so employees can stay well and in work. The guide addresses the whole lifecycle of employment, from recruitment, through keeping people well and managing a disability or ill health at work, to supporting people to return to work after a period of absence. Refer to the guide for more in-depth guidance on the practical steps to take across each of these areas. 

Go to the CIPD’s guidance for line managers on preventing and reducing stress at work, to see how managers can take six steps to help prevent stress in their teams.

Senior leaders and people professionals should role-model compassion and kindness, and show leadership by encouraging every manager and employee to take mental health issues seriously. They should take steps to educate and train the workforce about suicide. This includes fostering a culture where people can reach out to those in distress, and where asking for help is not seen as a sign of weakness (as discussed in section 4). It is important to remember that suicidal thoughts are much more common than is imagined 

Much of the day-to-day responsibility for implementing the policies and adjustments to prevent stress and support people’s health and wellbeing falls on line managers. A manager will typically be the first point of contact if someone needs to discuss any concerns or feels distressed.  

Employers should ensure that all people managers are trained and have a broad understanding of the important factors relating to mental health and suicide, and how to spot changes in employee behaviour that could signal potential warning signs of distress, including suicide risk. This should be embedded in a broader training programme that educates employees on supporting good mental health.  

Managers should have the confidence to not shy away from personal or emotional issues and feel comfortable having sensitive conversations with employees. They need to be confident in signposting to expert sources of support such as occupational health, GP services and an employee assistance programme, if available. This will require investment by employers in managers’ development and skills that should include a competency-based approach so they can demonstrate behaviours such as empathy and compassion, as well as specific education around mental health and suicide.  

Dealing with a sensitive situation like suicide can be very challenging. Managers and employees need to understand their role: they should be prepared to reach out to a colleague if they are concerned and ask how they are, including if they are experiencing suicidal thoughts. But managers are not qualified to act as counsellors or give a diagnosis, and they need to understand the boundaries of their role. Employers therefore need to provide training and ongoing guidance for managers on this. They also need to ensure managers know when and how to access support from HR and other sources of help if they are finding the employee’s circumstances challenging for their own wellbeing, as well as if they are unsure how to handle the situation.  

Asking about suicide can be a challenging experience and research shows that even specialist staff, such as counsellors, GPs and other mental health workers, can find difficulties in asking the question. However, it’s important to remember that asking about suicide will not put the thought into someone’s mind. If a person is not suicidal (or they do not wish to talk about it), they will simply say they are not having thoughts. More importantly, asking about suicide is communicating it’s okay to talk about it and the employee might approach someone at a later stage, when they are ready.  

It’s important managers understand where the line lies between listening and offering empathy, and when to signpost someone to a qualified health professional. This should be a GP in the first instance if someone discloses they are having suicidal thoughts.  

No one should be made to feel responsible for the actions of another person who is feeling suicidal. The organisation should ensure that anyone providing support to someone in this situation should also be offered appropriate support in turn, such as access to employee assistance programme services or similar: see Mind’s advice. This needs to be emphasised and included in any policy or guidance provided by the organisation, as well as in practical guidance given to employees/managers.

Good practice in mental health points to the need to ask questions about suicide with empathy and sensitivity, but also directly and clearly. People will often initially name suicide thinking by hinting at it, or using a metaphor (‘I just want to get out of everyone’s way’, or ‘I feel a burden to people’). The ‘rule of thumb’ is: if in doubt, ask. Do so simply and clearly: ‘Have you had thoughts about ending your life?’, or ‘Do things get so bad for you that you think about suicide?’ The actual words you use are less important than that they are clear and to the point. Samaritans advise that, if you’re worried someone is suicidal, it’s okay to ask them directly. This involves asking someone about their suicidal thoughts in a calm, confident, sensitive but clear way. Fearing talking about suicide is always worse than actually talking about suicide.  

If a person is asked and they say they are not having thoughts, it’s worth following up with something like, ‘If anything changes, please do feel able to talk to me about it.’ If someone says they are having suicidal thoughts, you may then decide it is appropriate to ask them if they have had any plans or intention to act on those thoughts, and encourage them to contact their GP. Knowing this additional information may help you signpost more effectively.  

It’s not possible to offer full confidentiality if someone tells another employee or manager they have suicidal thoughts. If an employee asks if they can talk in confidence, the employee needs to make clear – consistent with any mental health policy – that they would need to sensitively share any information if they believed someone to be at risk. Therefore, it’s important the organisation makes clear in its guidance to whom managers and employees should speak if an individual shares suicidal thoughts with them, such as HR or a senior manager or occupational health services, if available.  

An organisation’s suicide prevention approach needs to include training and awareness raising for employees and managers, so that they know how to respond if they are worried someone is in distress and/or having suicidal thoughts.  

If an employee discloses they are experiencing suicidal thoughts, they should be encouraged to contact their GP as the first step for support.  

Samaritans offer practical advice and videos explaining simple actions that can help you be there for someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, as well as the importance of seeking professional support and when to step back to look after yourself. There are also a number of specialist charities who can provide immediate and specialist support to talk to someone with suicidal thoughts, via a helpline and/or their websites and by email (see Further resources below). 

The following guidance applies to any employee or manager who thinks another employee could be at risk of attempting suicide. It’s important to remember that people aren’t trained counsellors or clinicians so should remain within the boundaries of their role and offer signposting to professional help where appropriate. 

Source: Samaritans guidance If you think it’s an emergency 

Access to means is a major risk factor for suicide. In some cases, the decision to attempt suicide can be an impulsive act, and whether or not lethal means are available for someone to act on their suicidal feelings can be instrumental in preventing a suicide.  

‘Internationally, there is consistent evidence that restricting access to lethal means is associated with a decrease in suicide. Restricting access to means involves implementation of measures to reduce availability of and access to frequently used means of suicide (for example drugs, firearms, enhancing safety of bridges).’ 

Source: British Psychological Society  

As part of its strategy to help prevent suicide, an employer needs to carry out a risk assessment of the workplace to eliminate or restrict the access employees have to locations or substances that could be used for suicide. The availability of lethal means will depend on the nature of the organisation’s business as well as its premises. For example, this should include reviewing the security measures in place in high-rise buildings and construction sites, such as making sure there are effective locks on windows and doors and restricting access to rooftops.  

Any organisation that has lethal drugs or chemicals, such as healthcare workers in a pharmacy or hospital, or agricultural workers with access to pesticides, needs to make sure that it has effective health and safety control measures in place to restrict access to them and prevent misuse. An organisation’s risk management process should also include steps to make sure customers or members of the public can’t access lethal means 

The term ‘suicide postvention’ refers to the actions taken to support people affected by a suicide death in the workplace when an employee has taken their own life, regardless of where the suicide took place. Although it’s a rare event, every employer needs to be prepared to respond very quickly to a suicide death and to give support to employees. The organisation’s suicide postvention plan should cover the death of an employee as well as bereavement relating to the suicide of an employee’s family member or friend and a supplier or client. Organisations will also need to consider the death by suicide of a former colleague; even if the individual has left the organisation, there could still be a significant impact among the colleagues they have left behind. The organisation’s plan should include all the steps and organisational support outlined in the CIPD’s Guide on Compassionate Bereavement Support, including provision for a bereavement policy and compassionate leave, but there are further considerations to take into account following a suicide death. 

The unexpected death of a colleague, whatever the cause, can be very upsetting, but if the death is by suicide, the emotional impact on close colleagues can be even more extreme. Individuals can also be very affected by the death by suicide of a former colleague, especially if they worked closely with the deceased and/or was or still is a close friend. If an employee dies by suicide, the psychological effect on their immediate colleagues and the wider workforce can be profound and long lasting. It can feel inexplicable, and the silence and stigma that often surrounds suicide can add to the distress and guilt people may feel. Some people may also feel emotions such as anger that are difficult to manage or disclose. One study showed that people bereaved by suicide were 80% more likely to drop out of education or work.  

It’s vital that an employer has in place a plan to respond to a suicide death that provides effective support for people. This should include access to wellbeing services and psychological support such as bereavement counselling, as well as practical support like compassionate leave. Not all employers, particularly smaller ones, have in place an employee assistance programme and/or other wellbeing services, but every organisation should consider offering access to bereavement counselling and other support for employees, even on a temporary basis as long as is needed, in the event of a death by suicide of a colleague. A number of charities provide very helpful services such as helplines that the organisation can also help people access (see Further resources, below).  

Suicide bereavement can be triggering and can also leave those affected more vulnerable to a higher risk of suicide themselves. This risk makes it very important that an employer responds to a suicide death with compassion but is careful with the tone, content and language of its communications with employees and other stakeholders. 

The guidance Responding to the Death by Suicide of a Colleague in Primary Care: A postvention framework published by the Louise Tebboth Foundation and Society of Occupational Medicine describes ‘suicide postvention’ as ‘the provision of crisis intervention, support and assistance for those affected by a death by suicide’ and sets out its four key aims: 

A postvention framework could be a standalone plan or might be a section of the organisation’s business continuity plan. It’s better to be prepared and have a plan in place if the worst happens, as if there is a death by suicide, it’s very difficult to respond without a plan in the midst of the devastation. 

This guide on responding to suicide risk should be read in conjunction with the CIPD guidance on compassionate bereavement support in the workplace as the advice on policies and support for employees is also relevant where an employee is bereaved because of a death by suicide of a colleague. As the guide says: ‘It’s vital for organisations to develop, and act on, bereavement policies that offer holistic, long-term support to bereaved employees and that recognise individual circumstances.’  

The compassionate bereavement guide covers a number of key areas where support is needed for employees, including:  

Why is it so difficult to talk about death and bereavement?  

It’s not always easy to talk about death and bereavement. It’s something that is not discussed enough in wider society, let alone in the workplace. Bereavement affects everyone in different ways and it’s possible to experience a range of different emotions. 

Grief is a very individual process, affecting people emotionally, psychologically, behaviourally, intellectually, physically and spiritually. When considering work-related activities, bereavement can affect concentration and sleep patterns, which may lead to tiredness, forgetfulness and impaired decision-making.  

Mind have a helpful list of some of the feelings people may experience after a loss.  

In order to allow employees to have the confidence to seek the support they need, employers should work to create an open culture of support within an organisation that will ensure that people experiencing bereavement will feel more comfortable raising any issues they might be experiencing and asking their managers for support.  

Develop and communicate a policy  

It’s really helpful to develop a bereavement policy to ensure bereaved employees are aware of and given the support they need. Key considerations include: 

It’s important that the policy is communicated widely and linked to broader sources of support and line manager education.  

Educate and support managers  

To raise awareness and empathy, organisations could consider holding workplace training sessions for managers and colleagues on how to support a bereaved employee. Such sessions should highlight the support available in the organisation and could also cover how to support the wellbeing of HR, people managers and employees if they have been affected, by association, by supporting someone with a bereavement or several bereavements.  

Key considerations include:  

Build flexible responses  

Flexibility is key when supporting bereaved workers. Each person will experience bereavement in different ways and will need different responses and support from their organisation. 

Remember that flexibility is key when supporting bereaved employees: 

Be open to ongoing flexible working provisions. As well as the CIPD guidance on compassionate bereavement support in the workplace, there’s also guidance for line managers on compassionate bereavement support. 

Following a suspected suicide of an employee, the organisation should appoint a senior manager to take responsibility for co-ordinating the organisation’s response to the death. They have an important role to play in leading the organisation through the crisis in a sensitive, calm and appropriate manner. It’s important the organisation ensures they have the appropriate practical and psychological support.  

The senior lead should oversee all communications and ensure that the organisation provides immediate and effective support for people, both psychologically and operationally. It’s important to note that the psychological impact of a suicide can take time to present – this means an organisation should be ready to provide support at any time a person asks for it or seems like they need it (and should be offered it without their asking).  

Part of their role is to ensure essential operations continue to run while making allowances for the understandable upset, grief and disruption caused by a sudden death. The senior lead should act as a bridge between the senior management team and other key stakeholders such as HR and relevant people managers. It’s crucial to build trust with employees following an employee’s death by suicide: people need to have confidence in leadership and know they are supported through a traumatic event.  

The compassion and kindness shown by senior management will be instrumental in creating a caring and supportive culture that fosters peer support where people can reach out if they need help. Having the courage to show their own vulnerability and talk about how they have personally been affected by the suicide can send an important message to people that it’s not a sign of weakness to express their feelings.  

Compassionate leadership can encourage a healthy grieving process. This includes rolemodelling behaviour such as active listening and empathy, as well as being prepared to make temporary changes to work schedules or workloads to support people where needed. Leaders need to look after themselves, too, and seek mutual support from their peers and access more specialist help, such as counselling, if they need it.

There’s a range of organisations that provide expert information and resources about suicide prevention, as well as useful guidance to help employers develop a good mental health framework.  

It’s also important to provide information on workplace support for employees. Health and wellbeing policies should link to other helpful services and resources, if you offer them, such as occupational health and employee assistance programmes, or point to external sources of support if you don’t offer them. 

PwC is a company that firmly believes work should be a place where people feel able to talk about suicide. As Ben Higgin, head of technology and investments, says in his blog: ‘As a Mental Health Advocate at PwC and also a Samaritans listening volunteer, I know that these conversations aren’t easy; but if you want a culture that gives people permission to talk about what is going on in their life, then you have to be prepared to talk about anything – or better put, be available to listen to anything.’ 

 ‘Some of the main factors contributing to someone having suicidal thoughts may be nonwork-related but that’s not the point as it’s about the whole person,’ explains Sally Evans, PwC wellbeing lead. ‘It’s about raising awareness, fostering a culture enabling people to reach out at work and signposting to professional help.’ This doesn’t mean employees should be trained to act as counsellors, and employees are not there ‘to rescue’ someone experiencing suicide ideation: it’s about preparing people to listen if someone says they are having suicidal thoughts, and to help them access qualified support if appropriate. It’s important to remember that suicidal thoughts are relatively common and do not necessarily indicate intent. Also, talking about suicide compassionately does not increase risk, rather it lessens it.  

This means setting clear parameters for what an employee’s role should – and should not – be, as well as embedding clear guidelines for what action should be taken in certain situations, including a crisis. ‘Suicide is very complex and of course it can be very hard to know if someone is having suicidal thoughts unless they tell you – but the better we get to know our colleagues, the easier it can be to spot behavioural or verbal cues that could be warning signs, and it’s always better to err on the side of caution, such as not being afraid to dial 999 if the situation warrants it,’ says Sally.  

PwC’s suicide prevention work is very much part of its wider wellbeing and mental health framework. PwC partnered with Samaritans and the Lord Mayor’s Appeal to develop the Wellbeing in the Workplace online learning tool. Free to all UK workplaces, the tool brings Samaritans’ listening and wellbeing expertise into the workplace, and teaches employees the skills to look after their emotional health and look out for others, before they reach crisis point.  

PwC has also helped to spearhead the ‘This Is Me’ campaign to challenge the stigma around mental health at work. Employees at PwC regularly share stories of lived mental ill health experience online, including several employees who have written about having suicidal thoughts and/or attempted suicide previously. ‘Some of the experiences are hard hitting but they have really helped to open up meaningful conversations about mental health as well as suicide,’ says Sally.

There are clear support pathways for an employee to signpost someone to if they are concerned about that person’s welfare and they need expert help. These include PwC’s employee assistance programme, which can provide direct access to psychological support for someone experiencing suicidal thoughts.  

PwC has also embedded clear practical steps in its guidance, so that an employee knows what action to take in different scenarios. These are set out in three levels with clear prompts to help the employee with appropriate signposting, along with contact details. They range from having a conversation to contacting a GP or A&E for a mental health crisis. In the guidance this is set out under three headings: 

In all cases the emphasis is on signposting to more expert support and further guidance emphasises the importance of keeping boundaries and not trying to ‘rescue’ ourselves. 

The organisation has developed a blend of training interventions to promote good mental health and foster a culture where people are not afraid to talk about suicide and seek help, which are designed across three levels: 

1. Building awareness and understanding about mental health issues and suicide at a ‘foundation’ level across the workforce, for example through guidance and online resources. 
   
   
2. Developing people’s skills and competence through appropriate training, so they have the confidence to have sensitive conversations with someone who may be struggling and/or having suicidal thoughts. For example, line managers and career coaches receive highly targeted awareness and skills-building courses from a range of mental health experts.
   
   
3. Key roles are targeted for more in-depth training – for example, senior managers and HR professionals participate in training designed to give them the confidence to deal with more complex situations and conversations about mental health.  

The range of online learning resources and apps developed with Samaritans and implemented by PwC across its 22,000-strong workforce helps employees to improve their emotional wellbeing. The tools and training also enable colleagues to recognise emotional distress in others and reach out to someone who might be struggling to cope. The company aims for 100% workforce coverage at the foundation level, aimed at improving mental health literacy. It also has its own mental health first aid training instructor to deliver more in-depth internal training to employees.  

The work PwC has done, and continues to do, to promote good mental wellbeing and create a culture where people can seek help, including for suicidal thoughts, is making a real difference. ‘By breaking down the stigma and silence around suicide at work, more people will have the confidence to reach out for help – and this is why it is a workplace as well as a societal issue,’ says Sally 

This checklist is intended to serve as a reminder of the key actions to take if you are required to respond to risk of suicide. 

Samaritans offer practical advice and videos explaining simple actions that can help you be there for someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, as well as the importance of seeking professional support and when to step back to look after yourself.  

The ‘Responding to suicide risk’ section of this guide covers this scenario in more detail. 

This checklist outlines the key actions to take to respond to death by suicide. 

Refer to the ‘postvention’ section of this guide for more information. 

This guide was researched and written by Dr Andrew Reeves, Associate Professor in the Counselling Professions and Mental Health, and Rachel Suff, Senior Policy Adviser at the CIPD. 

The CIPD is incredibly grateful to the individuals and organisations who gave their time and expertise to provide feedback to help inform this guide. These include: 

• Andrew Berrie, Head of Workplace Wellbeing Programmes, Stephen Buckley, Head of Information, and Rich Green, Information Officer, Mind 

• Gill Dix, Head of Workplace Policy, Acas 

• Dr Emma Donaldson-Feilder, Occupational Psychologist, Affinity Coaching and Supervision 

• Sally Evans, Wellbeing Lead, PwC 

• Neil Greenberg, Professor of Defence Mental Health, King’s College London 

• Abigail Hirshman, Director, Workplace Programmes (Mental Health and Wellbeing), Charlie Waller Trust and Consultant in Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work 

• Dr Gail F Kinman CPsychol FBPsS FAcSS FHEA, Visiting Professor of Occupational Health Psychology, Birkbeck University of London 

• Jacqui Morrisey, Assistant Director Research and Influencing, Samaritans 

• Cheryl Samuels FCIPD, BA, Deputy Director of Workforce Transformation, NHS England and NHS Improvement 

• Dr Rebecca Torry MB BChir MMedEd FRCGP, Trustee, Louise Tebboth Foundation and GP Nexus Health Group 

• Dr Roxane L. Gervais, CPsychol CSci AFBPsS, Director, Practical Psychology Consultancy Ltd 

• Lisa Ayling, solicitor and employment law specialist. 

We are also grateful for helpful feedback from internal colleagues and experts at the CIPD, including Holly Ivins, Claire McCartney and Ben Willmott.