The British Standards Institution (BSI) recently published the UK’s first standard (BS 30480) for addressing suicide risk in the workplace.
This voluntary standard offers free guidance for all sectors to create safe cultures, train staff, and manage mental health.
Samaritans is proud to have collaborated in the standard development along with other mental health organisations, government bodies, and educational institutions.
What is the BSI suicide prevention standard?
The guide provides a practical, evidence-based framework for:
- Developing suicide prevention policies
- Training managers and staff to identify warning signs
- Creating a supportive culture to reduce stigma
- Implementing postvention plans to support staff after a suicide
The standard is designed for organisations of all sizes and is particularly relevant for HR, health and safety, and occupational health teams.
Why suicide prevention matters in the workplace
Suicide can feel like a subject that sits outside the workplace, something too personal, too complex, or too difficult to discuss. Yet the reality is very different.
Research shows that 1 in 4 adults will have suicidal thoughts at some point in their life and 1 in 13 people have made an attempt. Many employees will lose someone close to them to suicide or find themselves supporting a colleague who has.
Workplaces are often where behavioural changes are noticed, where conversations happen, and where support can make a real difference.
Samaritans and the BSI standard
The standard marks an important step forward for intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide.
The real work starts now though for organisations. Implementing the best practice outlined means embedding action on suicide into everyday workplace culture and creating environments where stigma is reduced, conversations are encouraged, and support is accessible.
How Samaritans can support your organisation
Samaritans can support organisations with embedding recommendations from the standard through expert advice, training, and support for workplace wellbeing:
- Prevention: Training staff to recognise warning signs and have safe, direct conversations
- Intervention: Creating safety plans and supporting staff in distress
- Postvention: Providing guidance on how to support colleagues and manage the workplace following a suicide
Samaritans Training and Engagement Programmes (STEP) meet the requirements for providers of suicide prevention training outlined in the standard annex: principles for commissioning suicide prevention training.
Contact us about working together
To discuss workplace training and how we can support your organisation, please get in touch: