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Mental Health Policy

Purpose

A M Water Services Ltd recognises that mental health is as important as physical health. This policy sets out our commitment to creating a workplace where everyone — directors, employees, subcontractors and visitors — can talk about mental wellbeing without stigma, knows where to turn for support, and is not left to struggle alone. It complements POL_HSQE_26 Welfare (which addresses welfare provisions) and RA_HO_08 Stress & Wellbeing.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees, directors, labour-supply subcontractors and visitors to A M Water Services Ltd premises and sites, covering all work activities including water main installations, self-lay schemes, grab operations, emergency call-out work, lone working and office-based activities at our Northampton headquarters.

This policy supports our duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (sections 2 and 3), the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (regulation 3 — risk assessment) and the Equality Act 2010 (mental-health conditions can amount to a disability for which reasonable adjustments must be considered).

Policy Statement

A M Water Services Ltd commits to:

  • Treating mental health on a par with physical health — the same duty of care, the same conversations, the same willingness to make adjustments.
  • Reducing stigma — talking openly about mental health is encouraged at all levels, starting with the Directors.
  • Identifying risk — work-related stress is risk-assessed in RA_HO_08 Stress & Wellbeing and revisited at each Management Review.
  • Providing support — Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) are accessible, signposting routes are clear, and time off for mental-health appointments is treated like any other medical appointment.
  • Acting on what we learn — incidents involving mental health, near-misses linked to fatigue or stress, and patterns of absence are reviewed and inform RA / TBT updates.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) cover at AMWS

Role Trained MHFA Notes
Site Supervisor Jason May Trained 2024; refresher due 2027
Director — HR/Admin Leanne Mason Trained 2024; refresher due 2027

Either MHFA can be approached confidentially, in person or by phone, by any AMWS worker. The MHFA's role is to listen non-judgmentally, signpost to professional support, and (with consent) help the worker access workplace adjustments where appropriate.

Signposting routes

Concern First port of call Backup
Day-to-day work stress / workload Site Supervisor (Jason May) Director (Leanne Mason)
Personal mental-health crisis Trained MHFA (Jason or Leanne) Samaritans 116 123 (24/7, free)
Bereavement, family events Director (Leanne Mason) MHFA support
Substance use / dependency Director (Aaron Mason) under POL_HSQE_02 Alcohol & Drugs GP, Frank (talktofrank.com)
Suicidal thoughts Samaritans 116 123 (24/7) A&E or call 999 in immediate crisis
GP-route support Worker's own GP Self-refer NHS Talking Therapies (online)

Each AMWS van pack carries a credit-card-sized signposting card with the same information.

Reasonable adjustments

When a worker discloses a mental-health condition (in confidence to a Director or MHFA), AMWS commits to:

  • Discussing what's getting in the way of work
  • Considering practical adjustments — reduced hours, flexible start times, temporary withdrawal from on-call rotation, reduced travel, change of pairing on site
  • Reviewing the agreement at agreed intervals
  • Documenting the agreement only with the worker's consent (kept confidentially in the HR file)

Employee Assistance Programme

AMWS does not operate an Employee Assistance Programme. The position was taken by the Directors at the September 2026 Management Review and is recorded there.

There is no legal requirement to provide an EAP. The requirement that applies is the assessment and control of risks to health arising from the work, under regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. That requirement is met through RA_HO_08 Stress & Wellbeing, the mental health first aid cover, the signposting routes and the reasonable adjustments set out above.

Support available to anyone working for AMWS is therefore a trained mental health first aider as the first point of contact, the signposting routes above for anything beyond first-line support, and the reasonable adjustments this policy provides for. The position is reviewed on the annual policy cycle and sooner if the mental health first aid cover changes.

Connection to other AMWS controls

Linked control Purpose
POL_HSQE_26 — Welfare Policy Physical welfare provisions, on-site facilities
POL_HSQE_02 — Alcohol & Drugs Substance-use pathway is part of the wellbeing picture
POL_HSQE_15 — Grievance Channel for workplace concerns including bullying / harassment
POL_HSQE_05 — Anti-Bullying & Harassment Mental-health risk factor — addressed in its own policy
POL_HSQE_27 — Whistleblowing Confidential channel where formal grievance is not appropriate
RA_HO_08 — Stress & Wellbeing Risk assessment for work-related stress
RA_HO_18 — Fatigue Management Fatigue is a mental-health risk factor

Confidentiality

Conversations with MHFAs or Directors about mental health are treated in confidence. They will only be shared further with the worker's explicit consent — except where there is an immediate risk to the worker or to others, in which case the Directors will follow the AMWS duty-of-care pathway and signpost to emergency services.

Review

This policy is reviewed annually or sooner if:

  • A workplace incident raises a mental-health concern
  • The MHFA cover changes (new trainees, refresher cycles)
  • Government / HSE guidance changes materially

This document forms part of A M Water Services Limited's Integrated Management System. Paper copies are uncontrolled when printed.

Signed:

S. Ashton, for and on behalf of Aaron Mason, Director A M Water Services Ltd Under delegated authority 29th September 2026

Revision 1 was signed by Aaron Mason, Director, on 1st July 2026.

Where this policy is implemented

This block is portal navigation, not part of the policy. The policy wording and the Word controlled copy below are unchanged. It links the policy to the procedures that deliver it and the records that evidence it.

Local controlled copy

Word version of this controlled document (for offline / paper records):

Download POL_HSQE_29 (.docx)

The page above and the Word copy are the same policy. The Word copy carries the AMWS letterhead and the Director’s signature and is the signed original, so where the two ever differ on the approval date or the issue, the Word copy governs and the page is corrected to it.

Audit trail

Date Action By Details
29/09/2026 Issue 2 Sean Ashton, HSQE Consultant Employee Assistance Programme section rewritten from a pending decision to the decision taken. The Directors determined at the September 2026 Management Review, decision 1, that AMWS does not operate an EAP. The section now records that position and the requirement it is tested against — regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, met through RA_HO_08, the mental health first aid cover, the signposting routes and the reasonable adjustments in this policy. The EAP trigger is removed from the review conditions. Annual review date unchanged at 1st July 2027.
04/05/2026 Issue 1 drafted Sean Ashton, HSQE Consultant New standalone Mental Health policy, complementing POL_HSQE_26 Welfare. Codifies in-house MHFA cover (Jason May, Leanne Mason), signposting routes including 116 123 Samaritans, and the EAP-decision pathway (gap-closure tracker #13).

How this document is approved

This document is maintained under AMWS's continuous-compliance model. Substantive revisions are reviewed and signed off by the Directors at the standing weekly Director / HSQE compliance call (Sean Ashton, Onyx + Leanne Mason). Currency, cross-references and minor edits are checked at the monthly Onyx site visit. The annual Management Review (September) provides the strategic-level confirmation. Compliance is therefore continuous, not gated on a single annual meeting.

Document control

Document Reference POL_HSQE_29
Revision 2
Issue Date 29th September 2026
Next Review 1st July 2027
Status Uncontrolled when printed