"We know through research and anecdotal evidence that stigma and discrimination in the workplace prevents many employees disclosing their mental health problems, and stops many more people from looking for work.

"It's disappointing to see from the research, published yesterday, 19th December, that half of the employers surveyed say they wouldn't hire somebody with a mental illness, and the majority still don't have policies in place to support people with mental health problems.

"What is just as shocking is that one in four employers couldn't name any mental health disorder, which suggests we still need some focused attention on providing education and information around mental health for businesses.

"Nevertheless, there are a few encouraging signs in the survey that employers are beginning to realise that they are losing out on crucial talents and skills by failing to support or employ people with mental health problems.

"Through other studies carried out for Time to Change we are also seeing some early indications of a small decrease in levels of workplace discrimination reported by people with mental health problems. Over the last 18 months, there has been a 9% drop in the discrimination that people say they have experienced when looking for a job; while the number of people who report losing their job due to a mental health problem has dropped by 6%. [2]

"But overall there is a huge amount of work to do to support employers to improve their practice and policies to support their current employees - conditions like anxiety, depression and unmanageable stress affect one in six British workers each year. It is equally important to ensure talented candidates with mental health problems are not excluded from entering the workforce."

Notes to editors:
1. Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the discrimination faced by people with mental health problems, and improve the nation's wellbeing. The leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink are running the programme, funded with £16m from the Big Lottery Fund and £4.5m from Comic Relief, and evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London.
2. Findings from the annual Viewpoint survey of 1000 people with severe mental health problems on the Care Programme Approach in England. Conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and Rethink as part of the evaluation of the Time to Change programme.