Mental Health Awareness Week 2026: Breakfast Sessions for Managers That Care

Mental health doesn’t wait for the right moment. Neither should managers.
Join our free 5-day webinar series built for the people managing people.

Mental health at work is no longer an HR-only conversation. With one in six workers in the UK experiencing a mental health problem at any given time, managers are increasingly the first point of contact, often without the training, confidence or tools to respond well.

Most organisations mark Mental Health Awareness Week with a campaign, a wellbeing email or a poster in the kitchen. This year, Employment Hero is doing something more useful: a five-day, scenario-led webinar series built specifically for anyone managing a team.

Join our internal HR expert, Clair Flynn, the Mindfulness Project and specialist guests across five live 30-minute sessions as they walk through the real situations UK managers face every week;from the first conversation with a struggling employee, to navigating the grey area between mental health and poor performance, to the difficult conversations most managers keep rescheduling.

The programme at a glance:

(Monday 11 May – Friday 15 May, daily at 9:30 am)

• Monday, 9:30am: They just told you they’re not okay. Now what?
  First conversations, duty of care and what UK managers are actually required to do.
• Tuesday, 9:30am: Burnout, stress & sick leave: Where managers get it wrong
  Spotting the signs before sick leave becomes the outcome.
• Wednesday, 9:30am: Your mid-week reset: Mindfulness for managers
  A live guided session just for you, including techniques to use at work
• Thursday, 9:30am: When performance drops: Mental health or capability issue?
  Navigating the grey area between mental health and capability.
• Friday 9:30am: Difficult conversations managers rather avoid
  Avoidance, escalation, documentation and how to finally sit down and talk.

You’ll leave each session with something concrete: a framework, a phrase, a clearer line between what’s your responsibility and what isn’t. Designed for people managers, HR leaders and business owners across the UK, this series is built around real workplace scenarios, not theory, not tick-box awareness content.