What is ISO 45003?

Posted 4 years ago

Founded in 1947, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is an internationally recognised organisation that establishes standards for organisations in 165 countries worldwide.

They are the world’s largest and most recognised developer of voluntary international standards and they facilitate world trade by providing common standards among nations.

There are a great number of benefits associated with receiving an ISO certification for your business, including positioning yourself as an industry leader, increasing trust with your clients, and lower insurance costs.

With around 20,000 standards having been developed and set, some of their more notable standards include ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45003.

What is ISO 45003?

ISO 45003 is the first global standard that gives employers practical guidance on how to manage psychosocial risks to staff in the workplace, focusing on the “mental health” and “wellbeing” aspects of health & safety.

The practical guidance is stand-alone and is not a certified standard in its own right. However, the guidance is relevant to areas of the existing ISO 45001, therefore following ISO 45003 can help organisations achieve compliance with ISO 45001.

With the guidance being published in June 2021, it was released during a time where it is arguably more important than ever for employers to reach out to their workforce about the subject of mental health.

Download our ISO 45003 White Paper today

The business case for managing mental wellbeing & psychosocial risks

It is a legal requirement for employers to have risk assessments in place in order to protect their employee’s wellbeing. For the most part, the risks identified are those that can cause physical harm. However, it’s important to remember that emotional wellbeing is just as important as physical wellbeing and therefore should be treated with the same urgency.

Our mental wellbeing influences the way we think and feel about ourselves, our capacity to learn, communicate, and form, sustain and end relationships, as well as our ability to cope with change.

Work is a massively influential factor in the wellbeing of a person. Although there is evidence to suggest that those who work are happier & healthier, it’s important to recognise that work can have a negative effect on a person’s wellbeing.

With that said, workplaces should aim to create an environment that fosters good mental wellbeing and eliminates or minimises a work environment which can have a negative impact on mental health.

For employees, working for an organisation that has an environment like this offers a number of benefits including:

Sense of fulfillment
Effective work relationships
Good work/life balance
Career development
Sustainable work
Dependents/society positively impacted

Additionally, there are a number of benefits for organisations including:

Higher levels of performance
Better staff retention
Improved recruitment and diversity
Improved employee engagement
Enhanced productivity
Increased innovation
Improved organisational resilience
Legal compliance
Decreasing absenteeism

Financially speaking, investing in your employee’s mental wellbeing makes sense too…

According to a study by Deloitte, for every £1 a business invests in mental health initiatives, they can see up to a £6 return on investment!

Online Mental Wellbeing Training

The ISO 45003 guidance document is for organisations that are looking to improve work-related mental wellbeing and implement working with wellbeing training as part of their management of occupational health & safety.

Here at iHasco, we supply both Health & Safety and Mental Wellbeing courses, making us an obvious choice for thousands of employers looking to cover a number of key areas when it comes to staff training.

Designed to promote positive wellbeing in the workplace, our Online Mental Health & Wellbeing Training Bundle includes a number of courses to help promote positive wellbeing to all levels of employees whilst also offering them the knowledge to recognise issues with colleagues. Some of the courses include:

You can claim a free, no-obligation trial to any of these courses today! Alternatively, you can request a quote and a member of our team will get back to you with a tailored quote for your organisation!