Policy and practice

Psychological Wellbeing: Best practice guidelines for the legal profession

The Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation (TJMF) Mental Health Guidelines document provides a voluntary framework for legal organisations to utilise, identifying 13 psychological factors that support wellbeing in the workplace.
These are:

• Organisational culture
• Psychological and social support
• Clear leadership and expectations
• Civility and respect
• Psychological competencies and requirements
• Growth and development
• Recognition and reward
• Good involvement and influence by staff
• Workload management
• Engagement
• Balance
• Psychological Protection
• Protection and physical safety

The advantage of this type of framework (and others like it) is that they enable you to audit your current working environment and working conditions with respect to members and staff wellbeing, and on this basis to identify gaps and priorities for action.

The TJMF Framework suggests actions ranging from basic compliance through to standard, advanced and best practice.

On first reading it may seem too complex for any chambers but if you simplify and adapt the framework it will support you in developing a more considered approach to wellbeing and to wellbeing initiatives.

Creating mentally healthy workplaces

A report on what works in regards to mental health in the workplace complements the TJMF model and suggests six success factors for a mentally healthy workplace:

1. Smarter work design – e.g. enhancing flexibility around working hours and encouraging employee involvement.
2. Building better work cultures (organisational resilience) – e.g. encouraging a culture of flexibility, building a safe and positive work climate, implementing anti-bullying policies, enhancing organisational justice, promoting team based interventions such as employee participation and providing group support, providing manager training and managing change effectively.
3. Building individual resilience – e.g. providing resilience training, coaching and mentoring, and physical activity programs.
4. Promoting and facilitating early help-seeking – e.g. conducting well-being checks once appropriate support and resources are in place, providing stress management for workers with reported stress, using of Employee Assistance Programs which utilise experienced staff and evidence-based methods and peer support schemes.
5. Supporting recovery – e.g. providing a supportive environment, providing supervisor support and training, facilitating flexible sick leave arrangements, providing return-to-work programs, encourages individual placement support for those with severe mental illness.
6. Increasing awareness – e.g. providing mental health education and training.

This research also suggests that creating a mentally healthy workplace requires an ongoing, staged approach with five key steps:

1. Establishing commitment, leadership and support
2. Conducting a situational analysis – looking at what is working and what isn’t;
3. Identifying and implementing a workplace mental health strategy;
4. Reviewing outcomes; and
5. Adjusting intervention strategies.

This is a sensible approach to developing any policy.

If you come across another piece of research or framework which you have found useful in your organisation or chambers, please do let us know and we will provide the link to others interested in this agenda.

Wellbeing Standards, Charters, Pledges or Indices are a useful way to access:

• Guidance to developing a strategy
• Wellbeing materials; and
• Support, in the form of seminars and shared experience from other organisations.

A number of local authorities have established Workplace Wellbeing Charters you can go onto the main national website and key in your area to find out whether your local authority participates.

You can read about how St John’s Chambers in Bristol has got involved with their local Bristol Workplace Wellbeing Charter initiative below.

MIND are developing a Workplace Wellbeing Index at the moment. This will provide a benchmark for best policy and practice. It is designed for employers so all aspects may not be relevant for chambers but we will provide a review when we know more.

Other indices to consider

https://www.businesshealthy.org/ – this is part of a City of London initiative and produces some useful blogs about mental wellbeing.

http://citymha.org.uk/ – this is designed for professional services and mental health, but is worth looking at – it includes big professional services names.

Mental Health Toolkit for Employers

BITC Workwell model

Mind Employers Guide

HSE stress standards

http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/managing-and-supporting-mental-health-at-work-disclosure-tools-for-managers_2011.pdf

Mental Health First Aid England – managers’ resource

https://mhfa.com.au/sites/default/files/GUIDELINES-for-workplace-prevention-of-mental-health-problems.pdf Australia

Other pledges, awards and standards to sign up for

• Mindful employer
• Good Day at Work
• Simply Health – healthy workplace award
• BITC (business in the community) – BUPA wellbeing award

A good wellbeing policy should:

• Provide context and set out your vision/the aim of the wellbeing policy
• Clarify expected behaviours within chambers/your organisation including e.g. work life balance (for members, staff and pupils) [linked to your constitution if appropriate]
• Outline what is available to support wellbeing e.g. mentoring, awareness training, Employee Assistance Programmes etc.
• Confirm links to other policies e.g. harassment, equality & diversity, flexible working/career breaks
• Explain what chambers will do to support wellbeing and mental health
• Summarise how the policy will be communicated and reviewed

A number of chambers have been kind enough to share their policies:

Outer Temple Wellbeing Policy

3 Pump Court Chambers Wellbeing Policy

Or take a look at our case studies of various chambers and how they have benefited from taking part in a wellbeing initiative: Case studies

The most significant finding in our recent wellbeing research was that those who are mentored (i.e. have social support) are much more resilient than those who are not mentored. In fact studies suggest mentoring is good for the wellbeing of both mentor and mentee. Many Inns, Circuits, SBAs and chambers are recognising the value of mentoring and not only during the early years of practice or in the run up to applying for silk or judicial appointment. Bar Council has set up its own Mentoring Service and will endeavour to find a mentor to those who apply asking for assistance but it is worth considering the introduction of a mentoring scheme in your own chambers or organisation

Right across the Bar, and in organisations where barristers work, wellbeing policies and initiatives are being introduced. Policies that work in larger organisations can be successfully adapted to a chambers context. Learn more about what others are doing, the benefits they have gained and the tips they now offer to others. View some examples of wellbeing initiatives in chambers.

Sample Wellbeing Questions for Chambers Based Survey

A number of chambers have kindly shared with us their tips and advise on producing a chambers based survey. We have produced a few examples if you are looking for effective ways to promote wellbeing in your chambers or organisations. Click here to access the document.

Take a look at our FAQ page.

Where a barrister may have committed misconduct linked, either directly or indirectly, to their physical/mental health condition

Serious misconduct guidance

Where a barrister’s ability to practise may be impaired by a physical or mental health condition

Fitness to practice guidance

Where chambers or your entity may be treating a barrister unfairly as a result of their physical or mental health condition.

Harassment and victimisation may amount to serious misconduct: see gC96.2 and the BSB’s separate Guidance on Reporting Serious Misconduct of Others (at paragraphs 11 to 18).

The BSB have also stated, in that separate Guidance (paragraph 8), that: “Depending on the severity and impact of the discriminatory behaviour, discrimination can constitute serious misconduct”.

The wide meaning in law of ‘discrimination’ is explained in paragraph 10 of that separate Guidance.

Where a barrister may be failing to run their practice appropriately, or to perform their role (or act towards others) appropriately within chambers, as a result of a physical or mental health condition.
The following BSB Handbook provisions might have a bearing on, or be relevant to, situations which raise a wellbeing issue. None deals directly or meaningfully with wellbeing issues.

Other Core Duties

CD10 You must take reasonable steps to manage your practice, or carry out your role within your practice, competently and in such a way as to achieve compliance with your legal and regulatory obligations.

Equality and Diversity

rC110.3 You must take reasonable steps to ensure that in relation to your chambers or BSB authorised body, … the following requirements are complied with:

i. If you are a self-employed barrister, the affairs of your chambers are conducted in a manner which is fair and equitable for all members of chambers, pupils and/or employees (as appropriate).  This includes, but is not limited to, the fair distribution of work opportunities among pupils and members of chambers;

Where mental or physical health is concerned, wider equality and diversity obligations may also be triggered.

Chambers Management

rC89 Taking into account the provisions of Rule C90, you must take reasonable steps to ensure that:

.1    your chambers is [sic] administered competently and efficiently;

.8    appropriate risk management procedures are in place and are being complied with;

The focus of those provisions is likely to be seen as being risks to clients, but wellbeing issues may in some situations give rise to such risks. The management of such risks, and any policies in that regard, are a matter for each set of chambers.

Other Chambers’ Policies

Chambers may have their own policies in place specifically to deal with wellbeing issues which go beyond, or are separate from, strict equality and diversity issues, but there is no requirement to have such policies. For guidance on complaints see the FAQs.

FAQs have been developed to support you in managing a wellbeing issue. They provide guidance on the circumstances when the Regulator may need to be involved and what you should be doing to best support an individual who becomes unwell.

Click here to view the FAQs to support those managing a wellbeing issue

It is important to react swiftly, compassionately and wisely to a suicide for all concerned.

These resources have been developed by experts in this area. Valuable contributions have been made by chambers and other organisations that have had to manage the aftermath of the suicide of a barrister member, clerk or member of staff.
They have kindly shared their experiences to assist others.

Click here to view advice for chambers supporting colleagues following a death by suicide.

This document supports chambers in developing a Health Care plan with prior consents for colleagues with a diagnosed condition. It may be used in managing a return to work process.

Click here to view guidance on developing a Health Care plan.