News

Employers liable for work-related suicide
In March 2008, the House of Lords agreed that the widow of a man who killed himself six years after an industrial accident should be compensated by his former employers, in what was described as a "landmark ruling". Following an accident at work the employee, Thomas Corr, became bad tempered and severely depressed, ultimately committing suicide by jumping from a multi-storey car park in May 2002. His widow went to the High Court in April 2005 to sue for damages for pain and suffering and consequential loss caused by the industrial accident and subsequent suicide and lost her case. However, her subsequent successful appeal has now been upheld by the House of Lords. It is believed that there are approximately 250 work-related suicides in the UK each year.

It Pays to Eliminate Bullying
The cost of bullying at work is rising and employers should do everything they can to minimise the risk of such behaviour. Acas has said the average case costs the employer £30,000 but this may be a conservative estimate, as the median figure for “anxiety” damages alone is £5,000.

Even if the employer wins the case, the cost of fighting it can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees and lost management time.

Deutsche Bank was hit with £800,000 in damages for a case two years ago, but such large payouts are not restricted to the City. Bullying claims could be for personal injury, discrimination, constructive dismissal or criminal harassment, so the potential for compensation is unlimited.

Acknowledge Employee Mental Health Problems to Improve Productivity.
The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health claimed in December 2007 that mental health problems cost British businesses an average of £1,000 a year for every employee, and the overall annual cost to employers, including time off work and lost productivity, is nearly £26bn.

It says most firms vastly underestimate the problem, but they could make big savings with a few simple steps. The report makes a business case for companies to help staff with mental health problems.

It says few firms appreciate that one in six staff is affected at any given time.

The cost is enormous, the report says, with 70m working days a year written off because of sickness. And the Sainsbury Centre estimates that the cost of lost productivity from employees who turn up, but cannot perform well is more than £15bn a year alone.

January 2007: Emergency Service Installs "People Like Us"
The West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service installed PLUS this month, replacing stress management training previously provided in booklet form. PLUS costs less per person and enables the Health and Safety Department to monitor use of the course and make sure that all new employees have had appropriate stress management training

December 2006: Ofsted Work and Well-being Survey
Staunton and Associates Ltd. were selected to work with Ofsted as consultant and facilitator when conducting their first Work and Well-being survey across 2,500 employees in the second half of 2006. The project is now completed, on time and to budget. Over 75% of Ofsted staff responded to the voluntary and anonymous survey. 

July 2006: Lords ruling could trigger new claims from staff
A House of Lords ruling this month has made employers liable for workplace harassment even if they were not in any way negligent. This month’s landmark ruling could open the floodgates to new kinds of harassment claims.
The 1997's Protection from Harassment Act was used by an NHS employee to hold his employer responsible for a superior's treatment of him.
Supporting a previous Appeal Court ruling, the Law Lords decided that the Act covers the behaviour of employees at work even when the employer has not caused or failed to prevent the offending behaviour. Those employers now have vicarious liability for the acts of employees.
Bill Majrowski worked for Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust in London and claimed that his superior, Sandra Freeman, was rude and abusive to him in front of colleagues. Majrowski, who is gay, claimed that the abuse was fuelled by homophobia. 

July 2006: Public Sector v Private Sector Sick Leave
The popular view that public sector workers take more sick leave than their private sector counterparts is misleading says an HSE report.

The results of a recent HSE survey suggest that there is evidence of higher rates of employer under-recording of employee absence within the private sector, this being concentrated within smaller businesses. 

The Survey on Workplace Absence, Sickness and (ill) Health (SWASH) 2005 also indicates that differences in public and private sector sickness absence rates are small when account is taken of the size of an organisation; and differences in the age and gender profiles. The survey, based on 10,000 interviews with employees, confirmed that levels of absence were higher in organisations with more than 250 employees.

Almost all public sector organisations employ more than 250 employees, but the majority of private sector employees work in small or medium sized organisations, where the average number of days absence per employee is 4 days, compared with 7 days in larger organisations.

June 2006: Drinking to Drown Job Worries
More and more of men are turning to drink to help cope with the effects of work-related stress. A survey of British men has found 37 percent use alcohol as a way to put work behind them.

The survey of 2,233 men over the age of 18 was done for vitamin supplement manufacturer Vitabiotics Wellman. The study revealed that one in three men are drinking alcohol to try to switch off from work.

This news comes after another survey found more than a third of small business owners and managers spend their summer holidays worrying about work

18 May 2006: HSE survey finds 20% of staff concerned about work-related stress
One-fifth of British workers are concerned about work-related stress, according to a report published today by the Health and Safety Executive.

The Workplace Health and Safety Survey of 10,000 workers was conducted between August and December 2005. It looked at employee perceptions of workplace risk and covered a number of different risk categories.

About 40% thought that the risk of stress in the workplace could be reduced - whether they were concerned or not. Less than one-third said their employers had taken preventative action to reduce stress levels in the workplace.
Geoffrey Podger, Health and Safety Executive chief executive, said: "Stress is a major problem in British workplaces. Stress can occur in any workplace and it is important that both employers and employees recognise the symptoms at an early stage."

April 2006: Stress claims and disability discrimination law 
Added provisions to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), established to protect the rights of those suffering a genuine disability whatever its form, mean that stress may become an increasingly common claim. Employers need to take action now.

Until now any claim made under the |DDA had to be for a "clinically well recognised" illness. Stress is not itself an illness, so stress claims by employees in personal injury actions have not been very successful in the courts. However, the opportunity now exists for employees to make a stress-related claim on the grounds of disability, if they can satisfy the remaining grounds that define disability. 

The DDA was brought about to achieve equality between the disabled and the able-bodied and has been gradually introduced in stages since 1995. 

To avoid the danger of stress-related claims, employers need to take a proactive role in absence management and look to reduce sources of stress at work. 

March 2006.: Atomic Weapons Establishment Stress Management Programme
Staunton and Associates Ltd. have been appointed to run a series of stress management presentations and workshops for the 4,5000 AWE employees. In due course the programme may be extended to employees’ families. There is training for managers in how to conduct risk assessments for stress related ill health, while half day and full day courses, fact sheets, evening classes in stress-reducing lifestyles and other approaches will enable employees to find information and advice in a form that best suits their individual needs. 

August 2005
A survey by AllTheJobs.co.uk reveals that a third of all bullied staff leave their jobs as a result. Around half of all workers in the UK have experienced bullying, either as the victims or as witnesses to bullying. Meanwhile, the Chartered Management Institute, following a study sponsored by ACAS and Unison, has produced a leaflet advising managers how to tackle bullying. Contact us for further details.

August 2005: Research into Noise and Stress 
Experts now believe noise pollution could not only be damaging our hearing, but also making us depressed and stressed out. As our brains struggle to absorb the vibrations of sound waves, the production of our stress hormones spirals and our blood pressure rises.

Levels of noise just above 55dB - particularly if it is consistent and unwanted - have been shown to generate annoyance, aggression and sleep disturbance. The European Environmental Agency estimates that 450 million people - 65% of the European population - are regularly exposed to such levels.

113 million people experience 65dB and above - levels found to increase the risk of high blood pressure. Ten million people, particularly those with houses on busy streets or in the flight path of an airport, are exposed to 75dB - a level reckoned to generate high levels of stress.

Employers in the UK are obliged under the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 to take modifying action when workplace noise rises above what are called action levels, which can be as low as 85dB - a level which will be lowered further to 80dB under the European Union Physical Agents Directive set to come into force in 2006. Such levels are commonly exceeded in many work environments including processing plants and even kindergartens. 

May 2005: Mind survey results published
In May 2005 the mental health charity Mind published results of an investigation into why mental health problems have taken over from back pain as the main reason why people are unable to work and can claim incapacity benefit.

Anxiety and stress are responsible for the loss of about 45m working days a year, but they also contribute to underperformance among those who do not take sickness leave – who turn up but under-perform at work. 

According to Mind nearly 10% of the UK's gross national product is lost each year due to job-generated stress.
The charity called for changes in working practice to give employees genuine control over their work and an appropriate degree of self-management of workload. It said roles should be clearly demarcated, with defined responsibilities and expectations. Employees should be actively discouraged from working excessively long hours and there should be support for people with mental health problems.

April 2005: PLUS Announced
“People Like Us” interactive e-learning package from Staunton and Associates Ltd. was announced at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Annual Exhibition and Conference at Cardiff (April 2005).