What is a mental health first aider and does your business need one?

Key takeaways:

• Mental health continues to be a growing challenge for UK businesses.
• One initiative employers are exploring is the recruitment of internal mental health first aiders, who are trained to provide early support to colleagues who are experiencing mental health challenges.
• Key benefits of having workplace mental health first aiders include: encouraging early intervention, reducing stigma and raising awareness of mental health.

Mental health continues to be a growing challenge for UK businesses. 

According to HSE, 22.1 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25[1].

Meanwhile, Vitality polling found that nearly two-thirds of workers felt poor mental health had impacted their productivity at work[2]. 

For businesses, the potential economic impact of lost output could be huge. 

Vitality’s 10 years of Britain’s Healthiest Workplace: the changing face of the UK at work 2025 report found that, between 2014 and 2023, lost productivity due to ill-health was estimated to have cost the UK economy a staggering £860 billion[3].  

Additionally, the same research found that employees at risk of depression lose on average 151% more productive time[3]. 

Against this backdrop, mental health and wellbeing has become a greater priority for organisations.  

What is a mental health first aider? 

Alongside traditional support such as access to mental health services through workplace private medical insurance (PMI) schemes or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), more companies are now investing in mental health first aiders.  

According to MHFA England, a key provider of this training, since 2007, more than 800,000 mental health first aiders have been trained across England[4].

Mental health first aider training gives individual employees the knowledge and skills to spot signs of poor mental health and signpost others towards professional help. 

These first aiders can play a pivotal role in supporting employee wellbeing, both in the workplace and beyond. 

To find out more about the important role they play and the benefits that they can bring to businesses, we hear from three mental health first aiders to find out how this role can add value to workplace wellbeing strategies.  

Why is a mental health first aider important in the workplace?  

“Mental health first aid teaches people to recognise the signs of poor mental health, and sensitively approach individuals to provide support,” explains Yetunde Bankole, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Vitality, and a MHFA England instructor.  

“Spotting the signs early can prevent poor mental health from worsening. Without proper interventions, declining mental health can affect daily life, relationships, and work performance, creating a knock-on effect for businesses,” she adds.  

As research has shown, poor mental health can have a significant impact on business – affecting productivity, workplace absence and the bottom line.   

“With rising levels of burnout and long-term mental health leave, many people are reaching breaking point while trying to cope silently,” explains Alana Grant, Senior Service Consultant at Vitality and a trained mental health first aider. 

“For me, this role is about helping to break that cycle early. Sometimes all it takes is providing a safe space for someone to speak openly, maybe for the first time, to simply feel heard,” Grant adds. 

What are the benefits of having mental health first aiders? 

As many employee’s juggle work, finances, family life and personal challenges, Grant says it is easy for people to put their own mental health last.  

“Not everyone has someone they feel comfortable talking to, and that’s where mental health first aiders are so important,” she adds. 

This rings true with recent Vitality polling which found that just 5% of employees feel comfortable speaking to their line manager at their mental health[2]. 

'At its heart, the role of a workplace mental health first aider is about human connection' 

Alana Grant, Senior Service Consultant at Vitality and a trained mental health first aider

“It’s about letting people know they matter, that they’re not alone and that support is there – whatever they’re going through,” she adds. 

How Vitality supports business clients with employee wellbeing 

In the workplace, providing a raft of initiatives to support employees with their mental health needs is crucial. 

For Bankole, having mental health first aiders in the workplace demonstrates an organisations commitment and “shows that a company understands the existing barriers to mental health at work”. 

As a MHFA England‑trained instructor, Bankole helps to deliver this training to Vitality business clients. She is able to provide them with tips and practical advice, not just for training but also embedding first aiders into the organisation.

Darren Wood, Senior Solutions Consultant at software company ACI Worldwide, is a mental health first aider who completed his training through Vitality.

As a mental health ambassador and first aider, Wood says that he has a passion for listening when colleagues feel like they want to talk about a problem they’re experiencing.

“The training has empowered us to be able to make the right decisions; it’s not always about you, you have to take a step back because it’s not one-size-fits-all,” he explains.  

Wood is also one of 2,000+ Vitality Champions. This is an initiative that empowers employees at corporate client organisations to lead on workplace health and wellbeing. 

As part of the Champion programme, employees who are passionate about health and wellbeing can volunteer as internal advocates.  

Within this, they gain access to a dedicated community to collaborate, share ideas and receive expert guidance from Vitality coaches. 

“My role as a mental health first aider complements being a Champion really well,” he says.  

“I can offer up support on mental health whilst also signposting colleagues to the resources we have available as Champions, and educating colleagues on what is coming up,” Wood adds. 

Understanding the support available from the Vitality coaches 

“At Vitality, we’re dedicated to sharing our expertise and helping members to challenge their beliefs, behaviours and build healthier habits whilst being kind to themselves and we do this through different mediums,” Bankole explains.

Aside from delivering mental health first aider training to business clients, Vitality’s team of coaches provide guidance and advice on how to make the most of the services available to support clients with their strategic wellbeing goals. This can range from wellbeing workshops to bespoke training and strategy sessions.

“We cover topics from mental health to nutrition, movement, physical health, productivity and musculoskeletal health,” Bankole adds.

“These workshops are designed to educate but also give practical information so that, if an individual wants to make changes, they know where to start,” she concludes.

[1] Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2025, HSE, March 2025

[2] Research was conducted by Opinium among 2,000 UK adults in April 2026

[3] 10 Years of Britain’s Healthiest Workplace: the changing face of the UK at work, Vitality, 2025

[4] First national MHFAider Day celebrates the people changing and saving lives, November 2025

Related: What employers need to know about spotting stress at work