Cleared for take-off

The mental well-being of truck drivers, and the consequences of associated fatigue, is neither a new issue in the industry nor much talked about -- the culture has always been that a driver's health is down to the individual. But this attitude is under pressure. Following a review set-up by Prime Minister Theresa May in January 2017 the Health and Safety Executive has been asked to update its guidance to raise employer awareness of their duty to assess and manage work-related mental ill-health. Employers already have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. Expect to hear more when Business in the Community publishes the findings of its National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey next month -- World Mental Health Day is on October 10. We are on the cusp of a change similar to that seen with the corporate responsibility movement in the mid-1990s, according to management consultant Deloitte.