In 2024, the Looking Glass survey revealed a worrying shift in mental health across the UK screen sector, with 35% of respondents describing their mental health as poor or very poor, a significant rise from 24% in 2022. Most concerning of all, 30% reported experiencing suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months.  

In response to challenges like these, the British Standards Institute (BSI) develops standards to help organisations manage workplace risks and support employee wellbeing. As the UK’s national standards body, BSI brings together experts to create guidance that addresses current and future business needs. British Standards are agreed guidelines of best practice, designed to help organisations operate safely, efficiently, and consistently. 

BS 30480: Suicide and the workplace – Intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide is a voluntary guidance standard published by BSI in 2025. It provides an evidence-based framework to assist organisations in creating safer, more supportive working environments where suicide risk is recognised, addressed, and responded to with care. 

The standard does not introduce new legal or regulatory requirements. Instead, it helps organisations treat suicide prevention as they would other serious workplace risks, through leadership commitment, clear policies, training, and preparedness. Its aim is practical: to assist organisations in recognising what good practice looks like before a crisis happens, how to respond if someone is at risk, and how to support individuals if a suicide impacts the workplace. 

BS 30480 provides guidance on organisational culture, prevention, intervention, and support after a suicide. It encourages organisations to integrate suicide prevention into existing strategies and management systems instead of treating it as a separate issue.  

The British Standard outlines what a suicide prevention policy should include alongside ethical considerations such as confidentiality, respect and dignity. It provides guidance on recognising risk factors and warning signs in the workplace, using appropriate and non-stigmatising language, and responding safely when someone discloses thoughts of suicide. Importantly, it also addresses how organisations should respond after the suicide of a colleague, including supporting those affected, managing communication sensitively, and helping people return to work following a suicide attempt or bereavement. 

BS 30480 applies to all organisations, regardless of size or sector, and to all workers. The standard uses a broad definition of “worker”, covering anyone performing work or work-related activities under the remit of an organisation. This includes employees, freelancers, contractors, agency and temporary staff and volunteers. This makes it particularly relevant to the screen sector’s mixed and non-traditional workforce. 

The guidance is especially relevant for those responsible for people and working conditions, including producers, managers, HR teams, health and safety leads, occupational health, wellbeing and EDI professionals, and those managing performance, workload and organisational change. 

The standard does not include statutory responsibilities such as safeguarding, nor does it provide medical or clinical guidance or treatment options outside the workplace.  

Instead, BS 30480 focuses on what organisations can reasonably do within their remit: creating supportive cultures, recognising distress, responding appropriately, and ensuring people are signposted to professional help and external support when needed. 

The screen sector is characterised by intense deadlines, long and irregular hours, freelance and short-term contracts and financial uncertainty.  

BS 30480 recognises that thoughts of suicide rarely stem from a single cause but instead result from the interaction of multiple pressures such as stress, job insecurity, loss, or isolation, many of which can be worsened by working conditions. BS 30480 notes that most people who die by suicide are of working age and that for every suicide, at least 135 people are exposed and potentially affected. 

In this context, the episodic nature of work in the screen sector limits continuity of organisational support, positioning the workplace as a key setting for suicide prevention and support. 

To support implementation, the standard is accompanied by a set of practical annexes. These offer tools such as guidance for HR and line managers, principles for commissioning suicide prevention training, example checklists for responding after a colleague’s death, and templates to support individual safety planning. The resources are designed to be flexible, allowing organisations to adopt what is relevant to their size, structure and capacity. For the screen sector, where working arrangements are often fluid and teams are temporary, these annexes provide practical support without prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Suicide remains a highly stigmatised and often avoided subject in the workplace. Many organisations feel unsure how to respond, worry about saying the wrong thing, or assume it is too complex to address. Silence does not protect people. BS 30480 provides a shared, evidence-based framework that helps organisations act with confidence, consistencyand care. 

For the screen sector, the standard offers an opportunity to move towards a more thoughtful, preventative and compassionate approach. It helps screen businesses prepare rather than improvise, reduces the risk of harm to individuals and teams, and acknowledges the profound human and organisational impact of suicide. 

The standard reinforces a crucial message, that suicide is not only a personal issue but a workplace issue, and one that can be addressed through leadership, understanding and collective responsibility.