The Bar Council has signed a deal with wellbeing professionals Health Assured to offer its members extra support with the stresses and strains of practice.
The new Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provides barristers, clerks and practice managers with a confidential telephone support and counselling service (0800 169 2040), as well as wellbeing fact sheets, videos, self-help programmes, interactive tools and educational resources.
It is available to the whole self-employed Bar, and can be accessed via the Bar Council website and Wellbeing at the Bar website. It offers an additional service to the LawCare helpline, which remains available to all lawyers.
The EAP has been funded by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund. It builds on an existing helpline for criminal barristers, which has been pioneered by the Criminal Bar Association in the past 12 months.
Andrew Walker QC, chair of the Bar, said: ‘The findings of our “Barristers’ Working Lives” survey in the last year clearly indicated immense levels of stress felt by members of the Bar.’
