U.K. lawyers' top concerns currently include being forced back to the office and the financial pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a legal mental health charity has found.

This U.K. Mental Health Awareness Week, charity LawCare says the COVID-19 crisis is impacting lawyer's mental health by prompting specific concerns.

According to new data from the last two months, the organisation received the most enquiries from legal professionals concerned about not being allowed to work from home.

"My firm is expecting everyone back at work asap despite the fact we can all easily continue to work from home," said one person who contacted LawCare. "I am extremely anxious about it, I can't talk to HR as they've all been furloughed."

"I'm trying to work from home but I have very noisy neighbours and the flat is really rundown," said another. "It didn't matter so much when I was in the office all day but now I am becoming really depressed."

The next highest number of enquiries were from people worried about the worsening of current mental health conditions caused by the lockdown, with others adding that they were concerned about relationship strain, childcare issues and being asked to work whilst on furlough.

Another person added: "I've been told I can't work from home and instead must take annual leave or unpaid leave if I don't want to come in."

Other problems have included relationship strain, childcare issues and being asked to work whilst on furlough.

Another person contacted the charity to say that their organisation's furloughing operations had contributed to greater stress among those still working.

"I've gone down to 80% salary. My firm has furloughed half the team yet we still have 90% of our normal clients, so now I'm working weekends as well to cover the furloughed staff's clients and getting paid the same as the furloughed staff."

LawCare chief executive Elizabeth Rimmer said in a statement: "We feel this is very much the tip of the iceberg and anticipate in the coming weeks more and more legal professionals will contact us as the emotional and financial impact of the pandemic begins to really hit home.

"We would like to remind all legal professionals, including support staff, they can contact us for free, in confidence, to discuss anything that is bothering them. Talking through your problems with one of our trained staff and volunteers, who have all worked in the law themselves, can really help."

Law.com International is supporting LawCare at this years British Legal Awards, entries to which are open now.

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