CIPD warns employers not to be complacent

following new House of Lords ruling on stress

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned employers not to be complacent following a key House of Lords ruling on stress, last Thursday (1 April).

The Law Lords, although ruling in favour of teacher Leon Barber and awarding him 72,547 in damages for stress at work, decided that the Court of Appeal’s guidance for workplace stress, issued when considering the Barber claim previously, are valid.

The guidance effectively means that employees can only win damages for stress at work if either the employer knows they have suffered a previous mental breakdown or they have told their employer they think they are going to suffer ill health through stress at work.

The Court of Appeal guidance also states that employers will usually be able to defend a stress at work claim if they offer staff a confidential counselling service. However the Charted Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned employers that the ruling will not protect organisations from the costs of failing to identify and tackle stress at work.

CIPD employee relations adviser, Ben Willmott, said: High stress levels will cause increased levels of staff turnover and absence as well as low employee morale and productivity, all of which will cost employers much more than successful individual claims for work-related stress through the courts.

Willmott added that organisations that ignore the need to manage workplace stress effectively also risk possible enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Managing stress is about managing people properly. This means ensuring employees have reasonable work demands, achievable targets and the support and training to help them achieve those targets, said Willmott.