Bankers most likely to discriminate against mental illness

Last week's Guardian (26/08/09) reported that bankers are more likely to discriminate against job applicants with mental health problems than any other profession. Almost half (46%) of bank workers admitted they would be reluctant to employ someone with a mental illness.

But bankers were not alone in their discrimination and the research conducted by the national anti-stigma campaign Time to Change found that 56% of the 2000 people surveyed confessed that they would not employ someone with a mental illness even if they knew they were the best candidate.

The findings of this report are disappointing and confirm that mental ill-health still has stigma attached and that people suffering with mental health problems face discrimination even in the workplace where employment laws are supposed to be protecting them. We're trying to stamp out the stigma associated with mental ill-health and make people aware that mental illness can affect anyone at any time - 1 in 4 people will suffer with mental health problems at some point in their lives.

Have a read of the guardian article and let us know what you think - some of the comments people have made are as disappointing as the survey results!