Job adverts
It’s a good idea to start by reviewing the language in your adverts and any other documents that form part of the recruitment pack. Be clear that you welcome applications from people with lived experience of mental health issues.
If you are a disability-confident employer, you should explicitly include mental health problems within the definition of being disabled.
Your job listing should also include links to your mental health and wellbeing policies.
Interview process
Your job advert should also make it clear how people can ask for reasonable adjustments at interview. It is part of your legal duty to meet individual needs as far as is practical.
The Scottish Association of Mental Health (SAMH) has a booklet on mental health adjustments at work, including at interview.
Interviewers’ training
The people who carry out the interviews need to have training around disability and mental health issues, so they understand legal requirements, and know how to have supportive conversations with candidates about their mental health needs.
They should also have completed training in unconscious bias. ACAS has some useful information on avoiding unconscious bias (external site).
Unconscious bias podcast
The CIPD has a twenty minute podcast discussing how unconscious bias plays into recruitment.
Induction materials
You should make sure that all of your induction policies and processes consider mental health and wellbeing and that these are made clear to new workers.
You should especially consider people who are in work for the first time, including apprentices. Able Futures provides mental health at work support for people aged 16+ (external site).
