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Welfare Reform Bill

We all know the problem is that employers do not want to take on people with mental health problems and will not take them on if the Government are not able to provide the support that an employer would not normally provide for an employee. They want someone to be there when the employee is feeling challenged or stressed; someone who the manager can phone up and say, "Look, we are really having difficulties here, can we have a discussion?" All kinds of things might be necessary if an employer is going to manage an employee with a mental health problem. The noble Baroness rightly says that employers must take on reasonable responsibilities, but where people have fluctuating mental health problems it is very difficult. We all talk about stigma on the part of employers. I am not sure that I fully accept that. There are real problems that the rest of society must recognise and bear.