People suffering from mental health problems less likely to receive promotions at work.

Sufferers of mental health problems earn up to 42% less than their peers, prompting the government’s equalities watchdog to brand the pay gap “a disgrace”.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has found huge differences between the earnings of those suffering from mental illnesses and those who are not. They discovered for every pound that a non-disabled man earns, people who have conditions such as panic attacks earn 58p. And man with depression are paid 74p for every pound.

The commission found similar patterns within women. Those suffering from anxiety earn 10p less than non-sufferers, according to research that will be published next month which had passed to the Observer newspaper.

The information comes days after the latest British Social Attitudes Survey found evidence of prejudice within the workplace. It was found that a person with depression (17%) or schizophrenia (8%) that is under control would be as likely as others to be promoted. One in three think that medical history of a person with either condition should make a difference to their changes of gaining a promotion.

NatCen Social Research’s study found that 71% of people would be willing to move next to someone with depression, only 45% would be willing to live next door to a person with schizophrenia. And just 36% are happy to have someone with depression marry into their family, and fewer than 20% would want someone with the condition looking after a child within the family.

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/06/mental-health-pay-gap-depression-panic-attacks

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