THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF REMINDER OF
THE LEGAL SITUATION THE. UK.

On the 3rd of November 2004 the Health and Safety Executive issued their new standards on workplace stress.
If your company is not aware of these new standards, or is not yet implementing them, you could face prosecution!

You are required by law to conduct a regular assessment of staff stress. This is called a Stress Audit.
You are required by law to act on the findings of that Stress Audit.

1995 Heralded the first major Stress awarded in UK legal history with an award of £175,000 in compensation to John Walker. It is believed the total costs were in the region of about £500,000 .

Since then there have been numerous other cases including:

An award of £67,000 are made by Birmingham City Council.

An award of £300,000 made in May 2000 to a teacher who had experienced a nervous breakdown as a result of stress at work.

"Stress is likely to become the most dangerous emerging risk to business in the early part of the 21st century." (Association of Insurance and Risk Managers 2000)

Employers are bound by statutory health and safety legislation and by their common law duty of care.

The past director general of the Health and Safety executive, Jenny Bacon, states "Under existing law, employers have a clear duty to ensure their employees' health. That is a preventive duty".

The Acts Include:

The Health and Safety at work Act 1974.

The Management of Health and Safety at work regulation. 1992.

Apart from health and safety laws there is additional legislation that might be invoked:

The working time regulations. 1998
The discrimination acts eg.
Sex discrimination Act 1975
Race relations Act 1976
Disabilities discrimination Act 1995

However it is through breach of the civil law duties that employers may be most vulnerable to litigation for endangering the health of their employees through stress.

Avoid costly litigation.
T.L.C. Stress Management Services can help.
Page last modified: 26th August 2007