Mental health fears costing millions in productivity

REPORT: employees not seeking help and underperforming



Solicitors who are afraid to ‘come out’ about their mental health problems are costing law firms many millions of pounds in lost fee revenue, a new report has revealed.



The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) report said mental health problems cost all UK employers £26 billion a year, with ‘presenteeism’ – where mentally unwell employees attend work rather than draw attention to their condition, but underperform while there – accounting for £15 billion.



The report added that one in six of the UK workforce – or 20,000 of the 120,000 practising solicitors in England & Wales – is suffering from a mental health condition at any one time.



Kiran Daurka, an employment solicitor at national firm Russell Jones & Walker, told the Gazette she had represented many lawyers with mental health issues. ‘They are usually afraid to come out and admit there’s a problem because of the continuing stigma around mental ill health. There’s the fear of getting sacked under the disguise of failure to hit targets, for example.



‘But it’s a vicious circle. They are present at work, but less productive than if they had sought treatment. It costs the legal profession millions of pounds in lost fees. Firms should introduce a genuine open door policy so that the problem can be identified, discussed and solved before it can get worse.’



Jonathan Naess, a former solicitor at City law firm Watson Farley & Williams, told the Gazette there was a ‘conspiracy of silence’ about mental health in the profession and he was aiming to break the ‘last taboo’ through his charity, Stand to Reason.



Jonathan Rayner