Employee assistance programme: what it is, how it works, and how to use yours

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An employee assistance programme, usually shortened to EAP, is a support scheme your employer pays for that gives you access to advice and counselling, confidentially and at no cost to you, when something is affecting your mental health or wellbeing. ACAS notes that when an organisation offers counselling, it will usually be through a scheme of exactly this kind, and Mind lists EAPs among the ways workplaces provide advice and counselling to their staff.

This page is written for the employee side of the arrangement: what the scheme actually is, what it tends to include, whether it is really confidential, and what to do if your workplace does not have one. If the thing driving the search is work itself piling up, feeling overwhelmed at work sits alongside this guide and deals with the pressure rather than the paperwork.

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What is an employee assistance programme?

An employee assistance programme is a service your employer buys from an outside provider so that staff can get confidential support without paying for it themselves. ACAS describes it as the usual route when an organisation offers counselling, and Mind describes EAPs as schemes which offer advice and counselling at no cost to the people using them.

The context is a legal one. Employers in the UK have a duty of care, which ACAS explains as an obligation to do all they reasonably can to support your health, safety and wellbeing. An EAP is one of the common ways larger and smaller organisations meet part of that, alongside things ACAS also mentions, such as mental health champions, trade union representatives and mental health training. NICE's guideline on mental wellbeing at work, NG212, asks employers to consider giving all employees access to an employee assistance programme and to raise awareness of it where one is offered, which tells you something useful: the guidance treats an EAP as a thing worth having and worth telling people about, because a scheme nobody knows exists helps nobody.

So if you have seen the letters EAP in a staff handbook or on an induction slide and never been sure what they meant, that is the whole of it. Support your employer has already paid for, sitting there for the moment you need it.

What does an EAP include?

The consistent core is advice and counselling, which is how Mind describes what these programmes offer, and staff counselling is the example ACAS gives when describing what an EAP provides. Beyond that core, schemes differ, because each employer buys its own package from its own provider.

That means the honest answer to "what does mine include" lives in your scheme's own materials rather than in any general article. How you get in touch, what kinds of help are available, and how much counselling the scheme includes are all set by the package your employer chose. The practical move is to find the EAP's leaflet, intranet page or contact card and read what it says, and to ask HR if you cannot find it. It is worth doing this before the point of needing it, for the same reason you would rather know where the first aid kit is before you cut your hand.

Is an EAP confidential?

Yes, conversations with an EAP are confidential, and ACAS's guidance for managers says exactly that when it describes pointing someone towards one. What you talk about with the service is not routinely passed back to your employer.

Two honest notes belong alongside that. First, NICE's workplace guideline asks employers to be clear about when confidentiality will and will not be respected, the exception being when someone is considered at risk to themselves or others, which is the same safety-first principle any decent support service works to. Second, none of this obliges you to tell anyone at work that you are using the scheme. ACAS is clear that whether you tell your manager about a mental health problem, and at what stage, is up to you. Plenty of people use an EAP precisely because it sits at arm's length from the office, and that is a legitimate way to use it. If you want certainty about the details, asking the provider how its confidentiality works is a perfectly normal first question.

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Using the one you already have

If your workplace has an EAP, the sensible move is to use it, and to use it earlier than feels natural. Support schemes tend to get remembered at breaking point, when the more useful moment was several weeks before. ACAS suggests checking with your employer what support is available if you have concerns about your mental health, and that check costs you nothing but a question.

A few other workplace routes are worth knowing about while you are looking. If you are a trade union member, ACAS notes you can get help and information on mental health from your union. Mind also suggests speaking to HR if you feel unsupported and cannot talk to your manager, and offers a Wellness Action Plan template for mapping what keeps you well at work and what does not. And if things have already reached the point where time off is on your mind, how time off for stress works in the UK and getting a sick note for your mental health cover the practical side calmly.

If your workplace does not have an EAP

Plenty of UK workplaces have no scheme at all, and NICE's advice that smaller employers should think about accessing one is advice to employers, not a guarantee for you. If that is your situation, support still exists, it just is not routed through work.

In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies at nhs.uk/talk without going through your GP, though waits vary widely. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the GP route is the standard one. A BACP, UKCP, BABCP, BPS or NCS-registered therapist can help privately, and BACP (bacp.co.uk) and Counselling Directory (counselling-directory.org.uk) let you search by location and specialism. ACAS also signposts Access to Work, a government scheme that can support people whose mental health affects their job. The fuller map of no-cost and low-cost routes is in free counselling in the UK, and if you are weighing up what kind of help fits, counselling vs therapy untangles the labels.

Where Wobble fits

An EAP and Wobble are not rivals, and this is not the part where the workplace scheme gets talked down. If you have one, it is real support that is already paid for, and using it is a good decision.

Wobble exists for the gaps around it. Some people work somewhere with no scheme. Some want support with no connection to their employer at all, which is a preference, not a verdict on anyone. And some people were never going to book a counselling appointment in the first place, because the live conversation is the barrier. Wobble is a new and unique format of mental health support built for exactly that person: you describe what is going on by text or voice, and a personal video from a real qualified UK therapist comes back within hours, with one or two practical things to try. There is no ongoing commitment, and people simply come back for another Wobble whenever they want one. Therapists respond using the Wobble response framework, a structured framework built for short, practical, single-response support, and Wobble's Clinical Lead is James Penney, an NCPS Accredited Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.

When to see your GP

Book a GP appointment if low mood, anxiety or stress has been going on for several weeks with no improvement, if it is affecting your work, sleep or relationships, if it feels like it is getting worse rather than better, or if you have tried self-help and nothing is shifting. A GP can look at the whole picture, talk through options and refer you into NHS services, and none of that requires you to have used, or skipped, an EAP first.

Seek urgent help if you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm or feel you cannot keep yourself safe. NHS 111 has a mental health option available 24/7, Samaritans (116 123) are free to call day or night, and Shout (text 85258) is a text-based service if calling feels like too much.

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Quick summary

An employee assistance programme is a confidential support scheme your employer pays for, and ACAS describes it as the usual route when an organisation offers counselling. The consistent core is advice and counselling at no cost to you, the detail varies by scheme, and your scheme's own materials are the place to check what yours includes. Conversations with an EAP are confidential, the standard exception being risk to yourself or others, and whether you tell your manager anything at all is your call. NICE's workplace guideline asks employers to offer these schemes and make sure people know about them. If your workplace has one, use it. If it does not, NHS Talking Therapies, your GP, registered private therapists and charities are all real routes, and Wobble sits alongside all of it for the people who want qualified human support without the appointment.

Sources and further reading

• ACAS: Supporting mental health at work, Looking after yourself (acas.org.uk)
• ACAS: Supporting mental health at work, Talking about mental health (acas.org.uk)
• ACAS: Supporting mental health at work, Support and training (acas.org.uk)
• NICE Guideline NG212: Mental wellbeing at work (nice.org.uk)
• Mind: How to cope with stress at work (mind.org.uk)
• NHS: Find NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression (nhs.uk)
• NHS Talking Therapies self-referral (England): nhs.uk/talk
• NHS: Where to get urgent help for mental health (nhs.uk)
• BACP: bacp.co.uk
• Counselling Directory: counselling-directory.org.uk
• Samaritans: 116 123 (samaritans.org)
• Shout: text 85258 (giveusashout.org)

This article is for information only and does not replace advice from a qualified medical professional. If your mental health is affecting your daily life, please speak to your GP or contact NHS 111. If you are in crisis, please call 999 or go to A&E.