Ensuring line managers are trained to promote workforce well-being will be crucial in supporting the government’s new mental health campaign, the head of well-being strategy at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has told PM.

“Employers have a very positive role to play in the promotion of health, and the workplace is a great place to start by making sure that line managers have the right training,” said Deborah Jamieson, cross-government head of the health, work and well-being strategy unit at the DWP.

“When people go off sick there should be a line of communication. We want to return and retain people in work, and improve the health and well-being of the working age population.”

The government outlined its No Health Without Mental Health campaign earlier today, which aims to detect and prevent mental health problems earlier in a bid to tackle the £105 billion cost to the economy and help the one in four people who suffer from such illnesses.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced an additional investment of £400 million to extend personalised support to 3.2 million people across the country, by increasing access to psychological therapies such as counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Addressing the CIPD’s Well-being and Resilience conference today, Jamieson explained that people generally enjoyed better mental health when they were in meaningful work.

She said that employers should take on board that many line managers needed to raise their awareness of mental health issues and their understanding of how to respond confidently and effectively to staff affected by such problems.

Not recognising the benefits of well-being initiatives and early invention, plus a perception that employees needed to be 100 per fit to return to work were all barriers to change, Jamieson said.

“Line managers are often ill-equipped to handle sickness absence and health and well-being issues,” she continued. “Unenlightened attitudes toward mental health and chronic pain means that training is really crucial.”

Jamieson said that improved access routes to psychological therapies were being piloted in association with health organisations, Jobcentre Plus and Disability Employment Advisers.

“The sooner an employment adviser sees a client, the more likely it is that they will make a sufficient recovery to retain employment,” she told delegates. “The longer people are absent or out of work, the more likely they are to experience depression or anxiety.”

Jamieson added that mental disorders now accounted for 30 to 40 per cent of early retirements across some EU member states, costing €295 billion.

She went on to say that the DWP itself had saved £20 million in the past year through the introduction of well-being initiatives.