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Free toolbox talk · Mental health

Mental health toolbox talk

A toolbox talk on mental health for site teams, written to be read aloud in about seven minutes: what to look for in a workmate, how to start the conversation, what not to say, who to call, and what the site itself can change. The last page is the attendance record.

Download the talk as PDF Download the Word version

PDF · 3 pages · 209 KB · Word 41 KB · Free to use and reuse · Terms

Law
HSWA 1974 s2, Management Regs 1999 reg 3
Time to deliver
About seven minutes
Format
PDF and Word, with a sign-off sheet
Cost
Free, always

What this toolbox talk covers

This talk is for every team on site, whatever the trade. It takes about seven minutes to give and covers how to notice when a workmate is not themselves, how to ask and ask again, what not to say, what happens to anything someone tells you, and the free numbers to call day or night. It also covers the part the site plays: long hours, long drives, late pay and bad behaviour wear people down, and those are things a site can change.

It is written to be read aloud, in plain words, with the points a supervisor makes in the order they make them, two short lists of do and do not, and questions to put to the team so the talk is a conversation rather than a reading. The last page is the record: who gave it, who heard it and what was raised.

Stress and mental ill health are health and safety matters in law, the same as dust or noise. The employer assesses the risk and acts on it, and HSE publishes the six areas to look at. This talk sits alongside the health and safety work the site already does, and the delivery is recorded in the training matrix like any other briefing.

Checked against HSE guidance and legislation.gov.uk on .

Toolbox talk · About seven minutes

Mental health: the talk

Read it as written or in your own words. Tick each point as you make it. Stop for the questions, and leave the numbers on the board.

Why it matters

HSE counted 964,000 workers in Great Britain with work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25. That is just over half of all work-related ill health, nearly twice the number with a bad back or other aches and strains. It does not show on a RIDDOR form and it does not stop the job, so it is easy to miss.

On site it is often hidden further. Long days, time away from home, work that dries up, pay that arrives late and a habit of not talking about it all add up. The people in this team spend more waking hours with each other than with anyone else. That makes you the people most likely to notice when something has changed, and this talk is about what to do when you do.

HSE, Health and safety statistics: key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025

The points to make

It is a change you are looking for

Nobody expects you to diagnose anything. What you can notice is a change. Someone who was chatty goes quiet. Someone who was steady snaps at people. Late in, early off, more sick days, more mistakes, drinking more, eating alone in the van, not answering messages. One of these on its own is a bad week. A few of them, for a few weeks, is worth a word.

Ask, then ask again

Pick a quiet moment, side by side rather than face to face: in the van, walking to the compound, at the end of the day. Ask how they are doing. Most people say fine. So ask again: "Are you sure? You have not seemed yourself." The second ask tells them you mean it, and that is usually when the real answer comes.

Listen more than you talk

You do not have to fix it. Let them talk, do not interrupt, and do not rush to a solution. Say what you have noticed and that you are asking because you care, not because of the job. Ask what would help. If the answer is nothing, say you will check in again next week, then do it.

What not to say

Do not say "man up", "it could be worse", "we have all got problems" or "cheer up". Do not compare it to your own story or someone else's. Do not make it a joke to lighten the mood. None of it is meant badly, and all of it closes the door. A quiet "that sounds hard" and a question does more than any advice.

Keep it to yourself

If someone tells you something, it stays with you. It does not go round the canteen and it does not go to the office without their say so. The one exception is if you think they are in danger of harming themselves or someone else. Then you tell them you have to get help, and you get it. That is not breaking a confidence. That is looking after them.

Who to call

Samaritans: 116 123, free from any phone, any hour, any day. The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity helpline: 0345 605 1956, free and confidential, any hour, built for our trade, with live chat on their website day and night. Mates in Mind points you to the right support. If this firm has an employee assistance line, the number is on the welfare board. If someone is in immediate danger, it is 999.

What the site can change

Some of the pressure comes from the job, and the job can change. Hours that run past what was agreed, a drive that starts at five, pay that is late, a start date that keeps slipping, somebody being picked on. Those are not personal problems. They are things to raise with me, and I will take them up. Bullying is dealt with here, every time.

Do

  • Ask how someone is doing, and ask twice when the first answer is "fine".
  • Pick a quiet moment and a side by side setting, not the middle of the canteen.
  • Listen, say what you noticed, and ask what would help.
  • Keep what you are told private, unless someone is in danger.
  • Keep the helpline numbers in your phone: Samaritans 116 123, Lighthouse 0345 605 1956.
  • Tell me about hours, travel, pay or treatment that is wearing people down.
  • Check back in a week, even if they said they were fine.

Do not

  • Do not say "man up", "it could be worse" or "cheer up".
  • Do not turn it into a joke, or into a story about yourself.
  • Do not try to diagnose anyone or tell them what is wrong with them.
  • Do not repeat what someone told you, in person or in the group chat.
  • Do not leave someone on their own if you think they might hurt themselves.
  • Do not wait for a crisis before saying something. A word early costs nothing.

Ask the team

  • Who on this site would you notice had changed, and who would notice you?
  • When did someone last ask how you were and wait for the answer?
  • What is the hardest part of this job that nobody talks about?
  • What on this site, in the hours, the travel or the pay, is wearing people down right now?
  • Where are the helpline numbers kept, and has everyone got them in their phone?

To close

Nobody chooses to struggle, and nobody gets through it on their own. You do not need the right words, you need to ask the question and stay long enough to hear the answer. If it is one of you, say so to someone, or ring 116 123 or 0345 605 1956. If it is a workmate, ask twice. If it is the job, tell me and I will change what I can. Look after each other out there.

Record it. Who gave the talk, where, when, who was there and what was raised. The last page of the sheet is the record.

In Unibuild a talk is read in each operative’s own language and signed on the phone. How toolbox talks work

The law behind this talk

Checked against the source

The general duty covers health, including mental health

Every employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. HSE is clear that this covers stress and mental health: employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it, the same duty that applies to every other health and safety risk.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2(1); HSE, Work-related stress and how to manage it

Assess the risk and act on it

Every employer makes a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed at work, and of the risks to others arising from the work, to identify the measures needed. Where there are five or more employees the significant findings are recorded. Work-related stress is one of those risks.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3

The six causes of stress at work

HSE Management Standards name six areas that, if not managed, are linked with poor health, lower productivity and more accidents and sickness absence: demands (workload, work patterns and the work environment), control (how much say people have in how they work), support (from the organisation, line managers and colleagues), relationships (positive working and dealing with unacceptable behaviour), role (whether people understand theirs) and change (how it is managed and communicated). A site that looks at hours, travel, pay and bullying is working through that list.

HSE, Management Standards for work-related stress

Why construction in particular

The Office for National Statistics found that the risk of suicide among low-skilled male labourers, particularly those working in construction roles, was three times higher than the male national average in England between 2011 and 2015. It is the figure the industry charities were built around, and the reason this talk is given on site rather than left to the office.

ONS, Suicide by occupation, England: 2011 to 2015

What is on the sheet

3 pages, the talk and the record

The talk, over two pages

Why it matters, the points to make, do and do not, and the questions to ask, laid out to read from in the cabin or at the workface. Space at the top for the site, the date and who is giving it.

The last page, the record

The attendance record: each person's name, company and signature, the questions raised and any actions, signed off by the person who gave the talk. Type into it or print it and pass it round.

The Word version

The same talk as a Word document, so you can put your own letterhead on it, add a site photograph or change a point to match how your job is set up.

Download the talk as PDF Word versionPDF · 3 pages · 209 KB
After it is given

Delivered on the phone, signed in the room

On Unibuild a toolbox talk is picked from the library, read by each operative on their own phone in their own language and signed there and then. The record is filed against the operative, the site and the date.

A site manager sees who has had which talk, and who has not, without a sheet going round on Thursday.

How toolbox talks work on Unibuild
How long should a mental health toolbox talk be?
About five to ten minutes. This one reads in about seven if you make every point and stop for the questions. It is a briefing to open the subject and hand out the numbers, not a counselling session or a mental health first aid course. Those are separate and go in the training matrix.
Who should give it?
The supervisor or site manager the team already knows. It lands better from the person they work for every day than from a visitor, and it only works if the person giving it means the part about keeping things private and changing what the site can change. Read it through once beforehand so it comes out in your own voice.
What if someone tells me something serious during or after the talk?
Thank them, listen, and do not promise more than you can do. If they are safe, agree what happens next and who else, if anyone, needs to know. If you think they are in danger of harming themselves, stay with them and call 999 or get them to A&E. Samaritans 116 123 will also talk to you about what to do.
How often should we give this talk?
The law sets no interval. Give it when a new team starts, after a bereavement or a serious incident anywhere in the firm, during long stretches of overtime or uncertain work, and as part of the rolling programme so it comes round at least once or twice a year. Many firms give it in the week of World Mental Health Day in October.
Is this a legal requirement?
The talk itself is not named in any regulation. The duty behind it is: employers must protect the health of their workers, including from work-related stress, by assessing the risk and acting on it, under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management Regulations. A recorded talk is part of the evidence that the firm takes that duty seriously.
Do we need a record of the talk?
Yes, treat it like any other toolbox talk. The last page is the attendance record: date, who gave it, who heard it, questions raised and actions agreed. Keep the record. Do not write down anything personal that an individual said. Actions about hours, travel or behaviour on site go on the sheet; names and private details do not.
Should the helpline numbers be on site permanently?
Yes. Put them on the welfare board, in the canteen and in the site induction, and tell people to save them in their phones. Samaritans 116 123 and the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity helpline 0345 605 1956 are both free. Add your own employee assistance number if the firm has one. Check the numbers once a year.
Is this mental health toolbox talk free?
Yes. Download it, print it, give it, edit it and put your own name on it, including on paid work and for clients, with no sign-up and no email address.

More free toolbox talks

Each with a PDF and Word sheet and an attendance record
Health and hazardous substancesManual handling toolbox talkBack injuries are the most common site injury. Avoid the lift, assess what is left, and how to lift when you must. Health and hazardous substancesNoise toolbox talkHearing loss is permanent. Noisy tools, the action values, quieter ways of working and hearing protection. Site, fire and housekeepingHousekeeping toolbox talkA tidy site is a safe site. Routes, waste, materials, leads and lighting, and whose job it is.

Falls and access

Health and hazardous substances

Site, fire and housekeeping

Plant, tools and electricity

People and wellbeing

  • Mental health
  • PPE

The blank toolbox talk template, the toolbox talk register, every talk by topic and every other free form are on Free downloads.

Next step

The talk given, understood
and on record.

Unibuild keeps every toolbox talk against the operative who signed it, the site and the date, for seven years, ready for the principal contractor or an auditor.

Book a demo → See toolbox talks on Unibuild