Despite almost all the 100 UK-listed companies recognising that employee mental health is a significant concern, “substantial” gaps remain in workplace governance in this area.
This is according to the latest findings of the fourth annual CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark UK 100; a ranking created to show investors how well companies are performing on managing and reporting on mental health risk.
The report finds that 60% are failing to ensure operational management of mental health, fewer than half of CEOs demonstrate leadership on the issue and just under half of assessed firms (44/100 companies) appear in the benchmark’s bottom two tiers.
Not dedicating enough time
Amy Browne, Director of Stewardship, CCLA and co-author of the benchmark report, said:
“Many companies are still not dedicating sufficient time and resources to employee mental health, and a small number are failing to engage with us, as shareholders, on this important issue and measures they could take to improve, which is disappointing.”
Other areas of concern flagged in the report are:
· Under-equipped line managers, limited operational responsibility: 49% of the companies assessed do not appear to offer mental health training to line managers, who play a crucial frontline role. Only 40% assign day-to-day operational responsibility for mental health to identified individuals.
· Limited effectiveness monitoring: Many companies are failing to effectively monitor and report on the effectiveness of the mental health initiatives they are undertaking. For example, while 92% of companies run awareness-raising initiatives, only 40% report on employee uptake, and just 21% publish KPIs aimed at measuring impact on mental health. This lack of measurement limits companies’ ability to understand what’s working.
· Too many CEOs are still silent: While almost half (45%) of CEOs have made a personal commitment to employee mental well-being, the majority have not. Such commitments can set the tone throughout the organisation and underpin employee mental health initiatives.
· Worst performers: 13 companies remain in the bottom tier of the ranking. These score 20% or less and are at high risk of economic and/or reputational impacts from their poor management of employee mental health. Of the companies that have fallen behind , the company that has deteriorated the most is data provider RELX, which has slipped more than 25 percentage points since 2022.
The positives
On a positive note, however, many employers have improved their performance on mental health issues since the CCLA launched its benchmark in 2022, with 21 companies moving up at least one performance tier this year alone.
This year, the average company score in the benchmark rose to 46%, up from 41% last year, and just 35% in 2022. Fifty-three companies increased their score since 2024, against 36 whose score fell. Nearly four fifths (79%) have a formal mental health policy (or equivalent) and almost two-thirds (65%) of companies assign boardlevel or senior management responsibility for mental health, up from 52% last year.
Companies which improved their performance include Weir Group, Aviva, Intertek Group, Mobico Group, Ocado Group, Experian and Hays.
Browne said:
“Many employers cite better productivity, lower staff absence, the ability to attract talent and better employee retention as the key drivers for managing workplace mental health.”
Reinforce the message
CCLA and consultancy Chronos Sustainability, developed the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark to evaluate the performance of large UK and global companies on employee mental health. It is constructed using publicly available information to evaluate companies against 27 criteria that cover: management commitment and policy; governance and management; leadership and innovation; and performance reporting and impact. It gives each company a percentage score and places them in five tiers.
Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive Officer at Mind and member of the expert advisory panel for the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark – UK100, said:
“Having investors like CCLA raise this issue with the businesses they invest in helps reinforce the message that employee mental health should be high on the agenda for responsible employers, and that there’s a clear business case for investing in good employee mental health.”
The sister benchmark to the UK 100, the Global 100+, will be released on 10 October 2025.
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