The latest British Standard reflects a changing work culture, one that values employee well-being as essential to productivity and profitability. BS 30480 recognises that embedding a supportive workplace framework plays a part in suicide prevention.
Workplace Risk Assessments
Annual workplace risk assessments are a normal procedure for UK businesses. These focus on recognising and mitigating physical risks that may cause injury or death.
Yet, until now, there has been no framework that focuses on recognising risks associated with workplace pressures, isolation and other causes of poor mental health and suicide.
Can we expand existing good practices to encompass risks to employees’ resilience and well-being?
Did you know that suicides at work do not need to be reported to the HSE? As a result of no HSE data, we have minimal insight into common causes, patterns, risk identification and good practices.
I was shocked when I learnt this. It’s because suicide is viewed as an intentional act, rather than a preventable accident, so incidents are not reported. Yet, working conditions and relationships can be detrimental to mental well-being, resilience and confidence.
ONS data from 2011 – 2015* recognised a heightened risk for certain occupations, which included:
- Construction workers, particularly low-paid labourers and contractors
- Health professionals, including doctors, nurses and carers
- Agricultural workers and farmers
- Veterinarians
- Education workers, particularly nursery & primary teachers and teaching assistants
These professions all demand long working hours and expose workers to stressful or risky situations. What’s more, all but education workers have easy access to the tools to carry out suicidal intentions.
However, suicide risk is not limited to these professions. More widely, issues including harassment, bullying, discrimination and burnout can drive workers in any industry to a point of crisis.
This is why I believe that all organisations should extend the remit of risk assessments to encompass suicide prevention and support.
As such, I was honoured to be invited onto one of the working group that developed BS 30480. I believe that the implementation of this standard in all industries will support meaningful change and could save lives. Can I convince you to adopt it in your call centre?
BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace for Call Centres
Addressing the Compound Impact on Call Handlers
As a trainer in Suicidal Customer Conversations and a former Contact Centre leader, I am well aware of the pressures on call handlers.
Time limitations, repetitive tasks and the threat that AI will replace your job knock confidence. And, it is increasingly common for call handlers to experience challenging customer behaviours and complex disclosures.
These include admissions of suicidal intent and grief following bereavement to suicide.
What’s more, call handlers are not immune to challenging life circumstances such as caring responsibilities, health issues, relationship breakdowns and debt.
Retaining empathy and emotional resilience is difficult with the compound effect of triggering customer conversations and personal life experiences.
It’s no secret that many call handlers face burnout, and employee turnover rates are considerably higher than in other industries.
This indicates that there is a need for a greater focus on support to reduce the risk of poor mental health and suicide.
Appropriate & Consistent Responses
What is the appropriate thing to say, and how do you ensure consistency in responses and actions following suicide-related disclosures?
Every organisation can reduce the risks of poor mental health and suicide through open, non-judgmental conversations and clear processes to access support or signpost others to support. These are at the core of BS 30480. So, discover how to build on existing good practice to improve support to customers and colleagues who are struggling to cope.
In addition, use this framework as an opportunity to recognise the impact of customer conversations about suicide on your team’s well-being and review strategies that aid their resilience. These steps all help to reduce burnout and increase employee retention.
Implementing BS 30480 in Your Call Centre
BS 30480 offers advice on how to expand your protection of employee health and safety, your strategies to support employee wellbeing and your processes to inform customer conversations.
Rather than fixed criteria and assessment, BS 30480 offers clear guidelines for organisations of any size to implement intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide.
The framework is adaptable to every workplace setting, with organisations adopting relevant elements, rather than needing to achieve every element.
At this stage, I want to point out that the guidance will be made available as a free download. No charge will be made for accessing the standard.
Therefore, budget restrictions are no barrier to adopting good practices that recognise and reduce the risk of mental health harms.
Implementing BS 30480 in your call centre can include the provision of suicidal conversations training and resources for team leaders and call handlers.
In addition, the recording and monitoring of conversations and incidents relating to suicide can help you to understand the frequency, patterns and impact on your team. This may inform further actions to reduce the risks.
Who Can Lead on BS 30480 Implementation?
The standard is designed for managers, business owners, team leaders, HR and health and safety teams for embedding across the organisation. When rolled out across the team, it will help everyone to better understand:
- Suicide terms and definitions
- Examples of suicide risks and warning signs
- How to talk about suicide
- Toolkits for managers and HR teams
- How to support those dealing with suicide loss
The principles are easy to understand and can be used by any individual to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide.
They equip everyone with appropriate responses and knowledge of signposting to specialist organisations to help those in crisis. These can be applied with colleagues and customers, as well as in scenarios outside of work.
Want to find out more? This standard offers a framework for organizational action on suicide awareness and you can download it here.
Author: Helen Pettifer
Reviewed by: Megan Jones
Published On: 28th Nov 2025
Read more about - Governance, Helen Pettifer
