The growing need for mental health support in the workplace is becoming increasingly evident, with an increasing number of employees facing challenges such as stress, anxiety, and depression.
This is according to Karen Gittings, senior corporate benefits consulant (pictured) from Titan Corporate Benefits which won one award and received another highly commended at The UK Health & Protection Awards 2024.
Titan Corporate Benefits won the Mental Health Advice Firm of the Year category and was also highly commended for Best Group Protection Advice Firm and Gittings notes how important mental health support is now in the sector.
“Nearly every day I speak to a client who has an employee suffering from mental health problems and they’re looking for help,“ she says.
“This is something I have in common with my colleagues across Titan, all of us have found that mental health support has become an integral part of the services our clients need.
“This growing need for mental health solutions is something that the providers in the group risk and group healthcare space have recognised.”
New providers
Another feature is continued growth in the market, as Gittings says: “We are seeing new providers enter the market on a regular basis and existing ones expanding their services all the time so it’s critical that we have our finger on the pulse.
“We are finding that one of the most impactful services is line manager training and mental health first aider (MHFA) training.
“As a trained MHFA myself, I’ve seen the impact this can have in helping managers to understand how best to help employees who are struggling, which is easy to get wrong even with the best of intentions.
“Having a deep understanding of offerings that are out there means we can ensure that our clients are getting the best solutions for their needs.“
Gap in solutions
But another major problem is the widening gap in solutions, for people who have only mild to moderate mental health issues.
Gittings says: “There are now a range of solutions that can help employees with mild to moderate mental health problems, and NHS care in the most severe cases can be good.
“However, we’ve noticed a possible gap in solutions for those who fall somewhere between moderate and severe, where basic employee assistance programmes and counselling turn the patient down as they are not equipped to deal with the issue, meanwhile cover for more severe mental health problems isn’t always available.
“Those lucky enough to have private medical insurance (PMI) schemes will have access to support, however there are times when exclusions or limitations can make it inaccessible.
“In our view the industry now needs to focus more on the prevention of mental ill health – building awareness of the signs and symptoms of mental ill health, so that line managers can actively support their teams.
“At employer level this means the creation of workplace cultures and practices that contribute positively to mental and physical wellbeing.”
Coordinated entry process results in success
On winning the award, Gittings says the firm was delighted to claim the crown in the same week as World Mental Health Day fell.
“Having joined Titan Wealth earlier in the year, it was wonderful to receive this award in our new name of Titan Corporate Benefits and to be recognised for the important work that we are doing in this space,” she adds.
However, Gittings highlights that Titan tackled the entry process in a different way for 2024.
“Last year we approached the entry process a bit differently to previous years; rather than asking the team to draft submissions, our marketing team took the lead,“ she continues
“They facilitated a meeting with several representatives from our group risk and group healthcare advice team to understand what we had been doing to support mental health for the employers we look after and their staff.
“With marketing steering the conversation to ensure we covered off all the entry criteria, we had plenty of context and evidence to support our submission.
“Where we needed a bit more detail or some figures to be more robust, our marketing team could request them specifically and we found this was a really effective way of doing it.”
How to enter
Adviser entries to the UK Health & Protection Awards 2025 are open now.
The awards website includes the full list of categories and the criteria which advisers should address in their entries.
The closing date for entries is 23 May and these can be submitted through the awards website or by following this link.
Winners will be announced in a glittering gala ceremony at our new venue of the Park Plaza Westminster, UK on 16 October.
Health & Protection will continue publishing hints and tips and stories from past winners to help you craft entries to best tell the story of your success.