Mental Health in Licensed Premises: Is Your Venue Prepared?
Licensed premises are busy, people-focused workplaces. Long hours, late-night shifts, demanding customers, workplace conflict and the pressure of maintaining excellent service can all affect employee wellbeing.
Customers can also become distressed or vulnerable while visiting pubs, bars, nightclubs, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Managers and employees are not expected to diagnose mental illness or act as healthcare professionals. However, appropriate awareness training, clear procedures and suitable escalation arrangements can help staff respond confidently, safely and compassionately.
Watch: Mental Health in Licensed Premises
In this Click2Comply video, we explain how licensed-premises teams can support staff, recognise customer vulnerability and respond appropriately when a situation becomes urgent.
Why mental health matters in licensed premises
Mental health can affect every workplace, but licensed premises face some particular challenges:
Late-night and irregular shifts
High workloads during busy periods
Customer complaints and confrontation
Alcohol-related incidents
Lone working or reduced staffing
Pressure to maintain customer service
Noise, crowds and overstimulation
Bullying, harassment or workplace conflict
Poor mental health can affect attendance, concentration, communication, confidence and performance. It may also contribute to staff turnover and make it harder for employees to respond effectively during challenging situations.
Supporting mental health is therefore not simply about being compassionate. It is part of responsible workplace management.
Recognise changes without attempting to diagnose
Managers may notice changes in an employee’s mood, behaviour, attendance or performance.
Possible changes could include:
Becoming unusually quiet or withdrawn
Appearing anxious, overwhelmed or distressed
Increased absence or lateness
Difficulty concentrating
Changes in communication or behaviour
Reduced confidence
Becoming unusually irritable
Struggling with normal duties
These changes do not prove that someone has a mental health condition. There could be many explanations.
The appropriate response is to notice the change, speak privately with the employee and listen without making assumptions.
A simple opening question might be:
“I have noticed that you don’t seem yourself recently. Is everything okay, and is there anything we can do to support you?”
The purpose of the conversation is to offer support—not to label or diagnose the person.
Create a workplace where staff can speak
Employees are more likely to raise concerns when they know who they can approach and believe they will be treated respectfully.
Every licensed premises should consider:
Providing a named manager or wellbeing contact
Holding sensitive conversations in private
Listening without judgement
Explaining what support may be available
Protecting confidentiality
Agreeing practical next steps
Checking in again after the conversation
Managers should be honest about confidentiality. Information should normally be handled sensitively, but immediate safety concerns may require appropriate escalation.
The ACAS framework for positive mental health at work encourages employers, managers and employees to work together to create supportive working conditions and open conversations.
Manage work-related stress
Work-related stress should not automatically be treated as an employee’s personal problem.
The Health and Safety Executive states that employers have a legal duty to assess the risks to health created by work-related stress and take appropriate action. HSE guidance identifies areas including demands, control, support, relationships, role and organisational change.
For licensed premises, a stress review could consider:
Whether workloads are manageable
Whether employees receive appropriate breaks
The effect of late or changing shifts
Staffing levels during busy periods
Exposure to aggression or harassment
Whether responsibilities are clearly explained
The support provided after a serious incident
How workplace changes are communicated
The findings and agreed improvements should be recorded and reviewed.
Consider reasonable adjustments
Mental health difficulties can fluctuate and may, in some circumstances, meet the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Where appropriate, employers may need to consider reasonable adjustments. These should be discussed individually rather than imposed using a standard approach.
Possible adjustments could include:
Temporary changes to working hours
Additional or differently timed breaks
Temporary changes to duties
A quieter working area
More structured instructions
Additional supervision or check-ins
Support when returning after an absence
What is reasonable will depend on the individual, their role and the circumstances of the business.
ACAS provides further guidance on reasonable adjustments for mental health.
Supporting a vulnerable customer
Mental health awareness is not limited to employees. Staff may encounter a customer who appears distressed, overwhelmed, frightened or at immediate risk.
The priority should be welfare, dignity and safety.
Where it is safe and appropriate, staff should:
Use a calm and non-confrontational approach
Avoid crowding the person
Speak clearly and respectfully
Move them to a safer or quieter area
Involve a manager
Follow the venue’s customer-welfare procedure
Obtain professional or emergency assistance when necessary
Record the incident appropriately
Staff should not make assumptions about the cause of someone’s behaviour. Alcohol, drugs, illness, disability, trauma or another medical emergency could be involved.
Know when professional help is required
Licensed-premises employees should understand the limits of their role.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 999 or take them to A&E where it is safe and appropriate.
For urgent mental health support that is not an emergency, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option. Current guidance is available from the NHS urgent mental health support service.
Samaritans can also be contacted free on 116 123 for listening support.
Venue procedures should clearly explain:
Who must be notified
When a manager should attend
When emergency services should be called
How the person will be kept safe
What information should be recorded
How staff involved in the incident will be supported afterwards
Can you demonstrate that your venue is prepared?
Having a policy is helpful, but it must be supported by training, communication and practical procedures.
A responsible licensed-premises operator should be able to demonstrate that:
Work-related stress risks have been considered
Staff know how to raise a concern
Managers can conduct supportive conversations
Reasonable adjustments are considered appropriately
Customer-welfare procedures are available
Staff understand emergency escalation routes
Relevant training has been completed
Arrangements are reviewed after incidents or changes
Download the free checklist
Click2Comply has created a free Licensed Premises Mental Health & Wellbeing Checklist.
It helps you review:
Employee wellbeing arrangements
Work-related stress controls
Management support
Reasonable adjustments
Confidentiality
Customer vulnerability
Urgent escalation procedures
Training and review arrangements
Use the results to identify gaps, assign responsibilities and create a practical improvement plan for your venue.
How Click2Comply can help
Click2Comply provides accessible online compliance and awareness training for pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other licensed premises.
Our training and resources help businesses:
Deliver consistent staff learning
Retain evidence of course completion
Strengthen employee and customer awareness
Support responsible venue management
Build a more organised compliance system
Visit Click2Comply to explore our training courses and licensed-premises compliance resources.
For premises-licensing consultancy and specialist support, visit Licensing Professionals.
Click. Train. Comply.
This article provides general awareness information. It is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace medical, legal, occupational-health or premises-specific professional advice.
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