Reducing the risk of suicide: a toolkit for employers
Organisations: Business in the Community Public Health England Samaritans
A toolkit to support senior leadership, line managers, HR and occupational health and safety professionals to develop strategies to reduce the risk of a suicide that impacts the workplace, identify staff who may have suicidal feelings, and deal with crises.
This is part of a suite of eight interconnected toolkits, produced by Business in the Community and Public Health England, to help every organisation support the mental and physical health and wellbeing of its employees. Each addresses a different aspect of workplace wellbeing, with a common thread of mental health running through them all. They’re freely available and designed to be relevant to employers across all sectors.
The full suite consists of:
- Mental health toolkit for employersMental health toolkit for employers A proactive approach to workplace mental health can help you grow your staff and your organisation. This toolkit is designed to help small and medium organisations build a culture that champions good mental health. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Reducing the risk of suicide: a toolkit for employers
- Crisis management in the event of a suicide: a postvention toolkit for employers”Crisis management in the event of a suicide: a postvention toolkit for employers A toolkit to support employers in their response to an employee taking their own life, at work or outside the workplace. It covers a complete timeline: from immediate discovery and dissemination of the news to post-traumatic support and grief. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Sleep and recovery: a toolkit for employersSleep and recovery: a toolkit for employers Sleep is essential for good health and wellbeing: better sleep is the biggest single contributor to living better. This toolkit has insight and advice for employers to address the increasingly damaging sleep-loss epidemic. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Physical activity, healthy eating and healthier weight: a toolkit for employersPhysical activity, healthy eating and healthier weight: a toolkit for employers Good physical health is closely linked to good mental health—and low physical activity and poor eating habits can undermine this. This toolkit has information and ideas to help employers take a positive approach to activity and diet. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Drugs, alcohol and tobacco: a toolkit for employersDrugs, alcohol and tobacco: a toolkit for employers Alcohol, drugs and tobacco contribute to short and long term ill-health for many working people. This toolkit has practical ways employers can promote health and support employees who want or need to change their relationship with these substances. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Musculoskeletal health in the workplace: a toolkit for employersMusculoskeletal health in the workplace: a toolkit for employers Good musculoskeletal (MSK) health is integral to a full working life, and there's a clear link between MSK problems and mental health and wellbeing. This toolkit explains the issues and has practical guidance to promote MSK health in the workplace. By: Business in the Community View resource
- Domestic abuse: a toolkit for employersDomestic abuse: a toolkit for employers An estimated 1.9 million adults aged 16–59 experienced domestic abuse in the last year. This toolkit outlines the duty of care employers have to employees and what their role is in preventing and tackling domestic abuse. By: Business in the Community View resource
This toolkit, supported by The Samaritans, is designed to support senior leadership, line managers, HR and occupational health and safety professionals to identify a member of staff who may have suicidal feelings. It gives practical advice on how to deal with a crisis situation as well as embedding suicide prevention strategies in your organisation’s policies and ways of working. It’s divided into sections on different topics with built-in navigation and links between them, so you can follow it step by step or go straight to the sections you want to know more about.
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Suicide is a topic that is avoided and yet it is a major killer of both men and women. This is an extensive set of resources and guides that enable conversations and gives great advice to employers who may have an employee with suicidal feelings.

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Business in the Community
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Public Health England exists to protect and improve England's health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities.
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