Your how-to: Developing a comprehensive compliance checklist for mental health policies
Developing a comprehensive compliance checklist for mental health policies in your workplace is a systematic approach to ensure that your organisation has an effective strategy to support the psychological wellbeing of its employees. It includes a set of specific points your organisation should abide by, as stipulated by Australian Occupational Health and Safety laws, ethical guidelines, and recommended industry standards.
The checklist serves as a tool for evaluating the mental health policies and practices in your organisation. These are aimed at promoting positive mental health, mitigating mental health risks, providing support to employees dealing with mental health issues, and facilitating early identification and management of mental health problems.
The compliance checklist therefore should cover elements like: legality and adherence to national and regional regulations; effectiveness of mental health training programmes; adequacy of support systems for employees such as counselling or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP); established procedures for identification, reporting, and management of mental health issues; and commitment to continuous improvement of mental health policies.
Remember, the purpose of developing such a checklist is not to 'tick off a box' but to cultivate a safe, inclusive, and supportive work environment that respects and upholds the mental wellbeing of all employees.
Step by step instructions
Understand the Legal Grounds: Start by understanding the Australian Occupational Health and Safety laws along with any regional regulations related to workplace mental health. Consult a legal expert if necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of your obligations.
Develop a Supportive Infrastructure: Look into existing support systems in your organisation, such as counselling facilities or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), and assess if they are adequate to address the mental health needs of the employees. If not, work on developing these further.
Reporting and Management Procedure: Ensure that you have a structured process for identification, reporting, and management of mental health issues. This should include support for the person reporting, action against any discrimination, and measures to contain any potential escalation of issues.
Implement and Share the Checklist: Implement the compliance checklist throughout your organisation, by sharing it with all relevant departments and employees. Ensure this is easily accessible for everyone, which fosters an environment of transparency.
Identify Areas of Concern: Next, identify the specific areas related to mental health that your organisation needs to address. This could be stress management, emotional support, flexibility in work hours, or anti-discrimination policies for people dealing with mental health issues.
Training Programmes: Review your current mental health training programmes for effectiveness and to ensure they cover key areas. Keep in mind that training programmes should not just be about awareness but should also equip the staff with strategies to manage stress, deal with mental health crises, and provide peer support.
Develop the Compliance Checklist: Based on your review and legal understanding, develop the compliance checklist. Make sure it covers your organisation's adherence to legal obligations, effectiveness of mental health measures, adequacy of mental health support, and your commitment to improving policies.
Continuously Monitor and Improve: Regularly monitor the implementation of your mental health policies and practice continuous improvements. Any disparities identified need to be promptly addressed and the checklist updated as required.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
In Australia, employers are legally obligated to provide a safe and healthy workplace under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth). This includes mental health. Neglecting to consider relevant legislations and regulations in your checklist may result in non-compliance, attracting penalties.
Every organisation has a different culture, workforce, and set of challenges. A generic checklist might not address the unique mental health needs and risk factors of your company. Customize your checklist to your specific organisation's needs.
A common mistake is to focus primarily on recovery and support, at the expense of prevention. While support is crucial, a comprehensive mental health policy should also prioritize preventative measures to foster a mentally healthy working environment.
Legislation, industry best practices, and societal understanding of mental health is constantly evolving. If your compliance checklist is not regularly reviewed and updated, it might grow obsolete and ineffective.
If you fail to get the support and buy-in from senior management and employees, even the best checklist can be useless. It's crucial to involve all stakeholders in the creation and implementation process.
Without the right training to all staff members including managers, understanding and implementing the mental health policies can be challenging. Ensure you include comprehensive training as part of your checklist.