It pays to keep the workplace stress-free

A case which went all the way to the House of Lords found that a company was in breach of their duty of care to an employee and had to pay over £134,000 in damages.

The case of Intel Corporation (UK) Ltd v Tracy Ann Daw is a salutary lesson in how companies should protect themselves and their employees.
Most firms are fully aware of the need to protect their staff against injury during working hours. But now, under regulations set by the Health and Safety Executive, this extends to mental health problems caused by stress in the workplace.

Intel did not know that Ms Daw was susceptible to work-related problems as a result of postnatal depression. Before March 2001, a High Court judge ruled, a reasonable employer “could not have foreseen that there was a real risk of injury to her health”.

However, the judge went on, the company ought to have known by early March 2001 that the demands they were making were “totally unreasonable and that the risk of harm to her health was clear”. He said that had the company done what was needed at that point, her breakdown would probably have been prevented.

An expensive lesson for one company and an issue that can represent a real problem for all businesses today.

Doctors and HR professionals say they have issued more sick notes for stress in the past year than previously.

And there is another danger - stress at work is pinpointed as a direct cause of heart disease in a report by University College London.

It concludes that employees who suffer from chronic stress have a 68 per cent higher risk of becoming victims of Britain’s biggest killer. This proves that stress is not just a major cause of mental problems but can also be a contributor to of fatal diseases.

Health and Safety Executive regulations now extend to mental health problems and businesses can no longer sit on their hands and do nothing.

BHSF - one of the oldest names in healthcare - now has a programme to help companies through this potentially expensive minefield.

BHSF provides an integral solution at all levels, including risk assessments and access to stress counselling provided through a 24-hour help-line.

Callers have access to qualified professionals who can provide a telephone-based counselling service designed to help individuals to deal with the issues arising from everyday life that may give rise to undue stress.

The HSE define stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them”. This makes an important distinction between pressure, which can be a positive state if managed correctly and stress that can be detrimental to health.

To avoid the wrath of the courts, the adoption of good practice is essential. Companies should now carry out regular stress assessments among their employees, consulting closely with trades union officials where appropriate.

Managers and other supervisory staff should also be schooled in dealing with stress-related issues and the company should provide confidential counselling of the sort provided by BHSF for their clients.

Managers’ responsibilities are far reaching and their duties should include checking that staff are not overworking and that they are taking their full holiday entitlement. There is also a requirement to ensure that bullying and harassment are not tolerated in areas under their jurisdiction.

All of this may seem obvious but many companies could be in danger of expensive court action if they do not have relevant policies in place.
The HSE website (www.hse.gov.uk/stress) offers firms extensive advice on all these issues.

In another groundbreaking case, Hatton v Sutherland in 2002, the House of Lords said that employers who provide employees with a counselling service are unlikely to be found in breach of their duty of care in the event of a negligence claim.

This is why complying with HSE regulations is so important. As well as legal implications, absence from work through mental illness can be long term.
                                                                 
When you consider that sickness absence in total costs the UK over £12 billion a year and employers £495 a year in direct costs for every worker employed, getting it right is an important, cost-saving necessity.