About Workplace Mental Health
Most conversations about suicide at work focus on prevention, and rightly so. But there is a harder question that far fewer organisations have thought through: what do you do in the hours, days and weeks after a colleague dies by suicide? That is the work of suicide postvention, and it is one of the areas employers are least prepared for. Having spent more than twenty years on psychological health at work, including my time as a senior psychologist at the Health and Safety Executive, I have seen the difference that a considered response makes, and the lasting damage that a chaotic one causes. The publication of BS 30480, the British Standard for suicide prevention in the workplace, in November 2025 has finally given employers a credible framework that includes postvention. Let me be plain about what it involves and why it matters.
What suicide postvention means
Suicide postvention is the organised response that follows a suicide or a suicide attempt, aimed at supporting the people affected and reducing the risk of further harm. The term matters because the period after a suicide is not neutral. A death by suicide can raise the risk to others who are already vulnerable, particularly if the response is handled insensitively or the news spreads through rumour rather than careful communication. Good postvention has three broad purposes. It supports the bereaved, whether that is close colleagues, the wider team or people who barely knew the person but are shaken all the same. It manages communication so that the facts are handled with dignity and the family’s wishes are respected. And it protects the workforce by watching for signs that others are struggling and making support easy to reach. This is not about corporate risk management dressed up as care. It is about meeting a moment of real human distress with something better than silence or panic.
There is one thing about postvention that often gets missed, and it matters. Postvention is not only what you do after a death. The same principles apply after a suicide attempt that was not fatal. A serious attempt shakes a team in much the same way, it leaves the person who survived in real need of support, and it can raise the risk for others who witnessed it or who see something of themselves in it. So when I talk about postvention, I mean the organised response to a suicide or a suicide attempt, whether or not someone has died. A good plan prepares for both, because the moment a colleague survives an attempt is exactly when a considered, humane response makes the most difference, both to that person and to everyone around them.
Why workplaces get suicide postvention wrong
The reason so many organisations handle this badly is simple: they are improvising under the worst possible conditions. Nobody has planned who speaks to the family, what the team is told, how the news is shared, or what support is offered and by whom. Into that vacuum comes fear, and fear tends to produce either an awkward silence that leaves people feeling the death has been swept aside, or an over-reaction that turns a private grief into a public spectacle. Sensitive communication is one of the hardest parts. Say too little and colleagues feel abandoned; say too much, or use the wrong language, and you risk sensationalising the death in a way that can be genuinely dangerous. Handling media enquiries adds another layer, especially in higher-risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, health and social care, veterinary work and the emergency services, where a death may attract outside attention. None of these decisions should be made for the first time on the day they are needed.
What good suicide postvention looks like in practice
Good suicide postvention starts long before it is needed, with a written plan that names who does what. That plan sets out who liaises with the family and follows their wishes, who briefs the team and in what words, how and when the wider organisation is told, and what support is offered, from immediate practical help to longer-term counselling. It anticipates memorials and anniversaries, which can be points of renewed distress. It pays attention to the return-to-work of anyone closely affected, and it keeps an eye on people who may be at heightened risk themselves. The BS 30480 standard is useful precisely because it treats this as a system rather than a set of good intentions, and because it aligns with an employer’s existing duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It also sits naturally alongside ISO 45003, the global standard for psychological health and safety at work, since an organisation that already manages psychosocial risk well will find postvention far easier to deliver with compassion and consistency. For a sense of why this matters so much in higher-risk, frontline work, the piece on how the people who hold us together are falling apart is worth reading, and our BS 30480 advisory helps you put prevention and postvention on the same footing.
The point I want to leave you with is that preparation is itself a form of care. Planning your postvention response does not make a death more likely; it makes a humane, steady response possible when everyone around you is in shock. That is worth doing before you ever need it.
Frequently asked questions
What is suicide postvention?
Suicide postvention is the planned response an organisation makes after a suicide or a non-fatal suicide attempt. It focuses on supporting the people affected, communicating sensitively and respecting the wishes of those involved, and reducing the risk of further harm among colleagues who may themselves be vulnerable. It applies whether or not someone has died, because a serious attempt calls for the same careful, humane response.
Does BS 30480 cover suicide postvention?
Yes. BS 30480, the British Standard for suicide prevention in the workplace, covers prevention, intervention and postvention. It sets out how to support those affected, communicate sensitively, manage media enquiries and handle the aftermath, so that an employer’s response is planned rather than improvised.
If your organisation has never mapped out its suicide postvention response, that is the gap worth closing first. Our BS 30480 suicide prevention advisory and strategic support help you build a plan that is humane, practical and ready before it is needed. Get in touch through being-real.co.uk. This is a sensitive subject, and if you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to your GP or the Samaritans on 116 123.
About Peter Kelly and Being Real
Peter Kelly is an occupational psychologist with more than twenty years at the Health and Safety Executive, where he helped shape national policy on work-related stress and mental health. He sat on the drafting panel for ISO 45003, the global standard for psychological health and safety at work. Being Real helps organisations move from policy to practice on workplace mental health, from ISO 45003 gap analysis to BS 30480 suicide prevention and strategic advisory. You can contact the team at being-real.co.uk.