The status of the HSE Management Standards for work-related stress

Unions campaigned hard for an Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) on stress, but this was rejected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Instead, in 2004 the HSE published its Management Standards for work-related stress. The six standards are voluntary guidance and are not legally binding. The Management Standards are examined in Chapter 4.

Although the HSE Management Standards are voluntary, they are a useful tool for reps. In particular, they provide a helpful framework for stress management and a standard against which to hold management to account, both collectively and in individual cases.

General union Unite wants the Management Standards to be used to enforce the MHSWR when employers fail to manage stress at work despite the assistance and advice given in the Standards by the HSE. Unite believes that in the absence of specific legislation, the HSE’s Stress Management Standards are the most effective way of dealing with stress.

www.hse.gov.uk/stress/standards