The HSE Management Standards are the Health and Safety Executive's framework for managing work-related stress. They cover six areas of work design: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. HSE says employers have a legal duty to protect staff from stress at work by assessing the risk and acting on the findings.
Key facts
- Published by
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- Where HSE covers
- England, Scotland and Wales. HSENI publishes the same six standards for Northern Ireland.
- The six areas
- Demands, control, support, relationships, role, change
- Employer duty
- Assess the risk of work-related stress and act on the results
- HSE's five steps
- Identify risk factors, decide who can be harmed and how, evaluate the risks, record findings, monitor and review
- Cost
- Free to read and use
- What HSE does not offer
- Counselling, treatment or personal employment advice
The six areas, with healthcare examples
Each standard describes what good looks like and what an employer should have in place. The examples below show how each area shows up in clinical work.
- Demands
- Workload, work patterns and the physical and social environment. Say a community pharmacist runs the dispensary alone through lunch while a flu clinic is booked every ten minutes.
- Control
- How much say you have in the way you do your work. A rota issued with no chance to swap shifts or plan breaks is a control problem.
- Support
- Encouragement, backing and resources from the organisation, managers and colleagues. A locum with no named person to call about a controlled drug discrepancy lacks support.
- Relationships
- Positive working, managing conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour. See our guides on bullying at work and patient aggression.
- Role
- How clearly you understand your role, and any conflict between duties. A nurse asked to cover a task outside their competence, with no clear lead, faces a role problem.
- Change
- How the organisation manages and explains change. New opening hours announced by email a week before they start is a change problem.
What your employer has to do
Health and safety law in Great Britain requires every employer to assess risks to the health of staff, and stress counts as a health risk. HSE says employers with five or more employees must write down the significant findings of a risk assessment. The Management Standards give employers a structured way to meet this duty for stress.
HSE sets out five steps. First, identify the risk factors using the six areas. Second, decide who can be harmed and how. Third, evaluate the risks and agree actions. Fourth, record the findings. Fifth, monitor and review the actions over time. HSE also publishes a Management Standards workbook for employers who want a guided process.
Good practice means talking with staff and their representatives at each step. A survey on its own rarely shows why a team is under strain. Focus groups, rota data, sickness absence figures and incident reports give a fuller picture.
How to use the standards when you raise stress at work
Naming the standard behind your concern turns a personal complaint into a workplace risk your employer has to manage. These steps help.
- Pick the one or two areas which fit your situation best, such as demands and support.
- Write down specific examples with dates: shifts without a break, prescriptions checked per hour, cover gaps, incidents.
- Ask your manager whether a stress risk assessment covers your team and ask for a copy of the findings.
- Suggest a practical change, such as protected break cover or a named escalation contact.
- Follow up in writing and keep a copy. Our guide to keeping safe records explains what to store and where.
- If nothing changes, use the grievance procedure. Acas explains how grievances work in Great Britain.
A trade union or professional body can help you prepare. Pharmacists can contact the Pharmacists' Defence Association. Nurses can use RCN member support. Doctors can use BMA services. Occupational health is another useful contact if stress is affecting your health.
What HSE can and cannot help with
HSE is the regulator for workplace health and safety in Great Britain. HSE publishes the standards, tools and guidance, and HSE has an online form for reporting a health and safety concern at work. HSE does not give counselling, does not treat stress and does not settle individual employment disputes. For a dispute about how you are treated, start with your employer's procedures and get advice from Acas, Citizens Advice or your union.
Where the standards apply in the UK
HSE covers England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a separate regulator, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). HSENI lists the same six standards: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Read our pages on England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the advice bodies in each nation.
Looking after yourself while the work changes
A risk assessment takes time. Your health matters now. Our guides on burnout, unsafe workload and sleep and night shifts have practical steps. Use the support finder to see services for your profession. If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, call 999. In England call NHS 111 and choose option 2 for mental health. Samaritans answer on 116 123, day or night.
Common questions
What are the 6 HSE Management Standards?
The six standards are demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. Each one covers an area of work design linked to stress, ill health and sickness absence when managed badly.
Does my employer have to do a stress risk assessment?
Yes. HSE says employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on the results. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings.
Can I report my employer to HSE for work stress?
HSE has an online form for health and safety concerns at work. Raise the problem with your employer first and keep a record. For a personal dispute about your treatment, contact Acas or your union.
Do the HSE Management Standards apply in Northern Ireland?
HSE does not cover Northern Ireland. HSENI regulates health and safety there and uses the same six Management Standards.