Stress
Cases on Stress I
A number of cases have been successfully taken in the UK and Ireland, for the consequences of stress. The leading UK case involved a nervous breakdown brought on by overwork. The employer had failed to take steps to reduce the workload or provide the appropriate support. The claimant managed a number of teams of social service field workers, in an area with a large number of difficult childcare issues.
The employee suffered a nervous breakdown because of stress and was absent for three months. He discussed the position with a superior, and it was agreed that assistance should be provided to reduce his load. In the event, very little assistance was given, and he was expected to clear the backlog that had built up during his absence. Six months later, he suffered a more serious mental breakdown and was forced to cease working permanently.
After dismissal, he took an action claiming breach of the employee’s duty of care to provide a safe system of work and not to cause psychiatric damage and loss, by reason of the nature and circumstances of his work. The court held that the risk was reasonably foreseeable, that the employer breached his duty and that it was liable for the mental injury thereby occasioned.