Bankers exposed in mental health bias

by Gill Montia

Story link: Bankers exposed in mental health bias

Bankers are the most prejudiced employers when it comes to taking on staff with experience of mental illness.

The claim is made by mental health campaign, Time to Change, which is funded by the National Lottery and Comic Relief.

The anti-stigma body has been surveying Britons and their attitudes to mental health, mindful of the fact that the incidence of mental illness rises during a recession.

As a result, more people will be admitting to depression or other forms of mental illness on application forms, which could increase their struggle to find work.

According to the research, bank workers are the group most likely to discriminate against an interviewee with experience of a mental illness.

Forty six per cent of respondents from this sector were either fearful that the person would be unreliable, or worried that they themselves would be blamed for employing a person with mental health issues, if that person subsequently went off sick.

Time for Change points out that this is worrying for banking professionals who have lost their jobs in the credit crisis.

The body cites the case of a business analyst in the banking industry who had time off work for depression and undertook 150 interviews before securing another job, outside banking.