Telling your employer about your mental health

You are entitled to say very little.

That is the sentence most people need first, because the choice usually feels like everything or nothing — either you explain your entire mental health history to a manager, or you say nothing and quietly deteriorate.

There is a great deal of room between those, and most of what you actually need sits in it.

You do not have to give a diagnosis

Not to your manager, not to HR, not on a return-to-work form.

What you may need to communicate is the effect — that you are unwell, roughly for how long, and what would help. None of that requires naming a condition.

Compare:

"I've been diagnosed with severe depression and I've been having thoughts of suicide."

"I'm dealing with a health issue that's affecting my sleep and concentration. I'm getting treatment. I'd like to talk about reducing my hours for a few weeks."

The second gets you the adjustment. The first gets you the adjustment and tells a line manager something they cannot un-know and may not handle well.

Some people want to be open, and there are real arguments for it — it is exhausting to manage a secret, and openness at work has made things better for plenty of people. That is a legitimate choice. It should be a choice, though, not something you back into because you did not realise there was another option.

A fit note does not have to say much either

A GP's fit note has a free-text box, and you can ask what goes in it.

"Stress-related illness" or "low mood" are commonly used and deliberately unspecific. If you would rather it did not say "depression" or mention suicidal thoughts, say so — GPs write these constantly and will usually accommodate a reasonable request.

Who is allowed to know what

• Your manager needs to know the practical facts: that you are unwell, the likely duration, and what adjustments you need. Not the diagnosis.
• HR holds the formal record. Health information is special-category data under UK GDPR and has to be handled accordingly.
• Occupational health is the one that surprises people. OH is usually external, and their report to your employer contains their recommendations, not a transcript. You can normally ask to see the report before it is sent, and to comment on it. Ask — it is a right people are rarely told about.
• Colleagues need to know nothing at all. If you would rather they were told something specific — or nothing — say so explicitly, because otherwise well-meaning managers improvise.

Reasonable adjustments

If your mental health condition has a substantial, long-term effect on day-to-day activities, it is likely a disability under the Equality Act — which means your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. This applies to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD and others; it is not reserved for the visible or the physical.

Adjustments people actually ask for and get:

• A later start, to work around medication that leaves you slow in the mornings
• Reduced hours temporarily, or a phased return after time off
• Working from home more, or — for some people — less, because an empty flat is the problem
• Fewer or shorter meetings; being allowed to keep the camera off
• A quieter space, or noise-cancelling headphones
• Time off for appointments without using annual leave
• A pause on new projects for a defined period
• A named person to check in with weekly instead of an open-ended "my door is always open"

Ask for something specific and time-bounded. "I'd like to start at ten for the next six weeks" gets a yes far more often than "I'm struggling and need support."

What to actually say

Asking for a conversation:

"Could we have twenty minutes this week? I need to talk about a health issue and some changes I'd like to ask for. It's not about the job."

In the meeting:

"I'm dealing with a health issue. I'm under a doctor and I'm getting treatment. It's affecting my sleep and concentration. I'd like to [specific ask] for [specific period], and I'd like to review it in a month."

If pressed for detail you would rather not give:

"I'd rather not go into the specifics, but I'm happy for occupational health to advise on what I need."

That last one is the most useful sentence in this guide. It is not evasive — it routes a question a manager should not be asking to the function that exists to answer it.

Needing to be signed off:

"I'm not well enough to be at work. I'm seeing my GP on Thursday and I expect to be signed off. I'll let you know the duration as soon as I have it."

More wording you can use →

If you are too unwell to be at work

Then be off. Working through a mental health crisis is not endurance, it is usually the thing that extends it.

• A GP can sign you off. Self-certification covers the first seven days including weekends; a fit note is needed after that.
• Check your contract for company sick pay — many people are entitled to considerably more than statutory and have never looked.
• A fit note can say "may be fit for work" with conditions, which is the route to a phased return rather than a binary in-or-out.

If it goes badly

Being managed out after disclosing does happen. If you are treated worse because of a disability, that is discrimination and there are routes.

• Keep a written record. Dates, what was said, by whom. Follow up significant conversations with a short email — "just to confirm what we discussed" — so there is a trail.
• Your union, if you have one. This is exactly what they are for.
• Acas gives free, impartial advice on UK employment rights.
• Citizens Advice for the same, more broadly.

Employment tribunal claims for disability discrimination have short deadlines — usually three months less one day — so get advice early rather than after you have tried to resolve it internally for six months.