WORK-RELATED STRESS

A guide to work-related stress from the employment law experts

Marjon Law, specialist employment lawyers is owner-led by Marc Jones, who is ranked and recommended in legal publications as a leading employment law solicitor, with over 20 years of experience practising solely in employment law.

If you would like advice on work-related stress, please contact us.

What is work-related stress?

Work-related stress is defined by the Health and Safety Executive as a 'harmful reaction that people have to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work.'

There are five main factors that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed properly, which are:

demands (ie being overworked)
control (ie work is being taken away)
support (ie being left alone with no support)
relationships (ie being bullied or harassed by a work colleague)
role (ie a role is too difficult)
change (ie changes to duties or reporting line).

The effects of work-related stress can include:

difficulty breathing
panic attacks
blurred eyesight or sore eyes
sleep problems
fatigue
muscle aches and headaches
chest pains and high blood pressure
indigestion or heartburn.

Work-related stress often goes hand-in-hand with anxiety and/or depression.

in 2020/21 work-related stress, anxiety or depression accounted for 50% of all work-related ill-health.

What are an employer’s responsibilities if an employee is suffering from work-related stress?

Employers have a statutory duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees in the workplace under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

As part of this duty, an employer has should:

identify significant and foreseeable risks to the employees’ health
prevent harm to the employees’ health that is foreseeable and could be caused by the working environment
consider any reasonable adjustments employees may have (physical or otherwise), that have a substantial or long-term effect on their ability to work.

Employers need to be proactive in considering what factors could impact an employee’s health or make existing health conditions worse.

Employers should be taking reasonable steps to identify the risks and possible sources of stress that could foreseeably cause ill-health. However, employers are entitled to expect that employees can cope with the normal pressures of their role unless they are specifically aware of a particular issue.

Whether the harm is foreseeable will depend mainly on the following:

is the workload more than is normal for the role?
are the demands on an employee higher than compared to others doing similar work?
are there signs that an employee is suffering from stress (eg repeated time off work for sickness)?
could an employee’s health issues be classified as a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA)?

Once, an employer knows an employee’s health is suffering, the responsibility passes to them to intervene. The employer should take all reasonable steps, including sending the employee home (if necessary) and referring them to occupational health to be assessed.

What is considered reasonable will depend on the facts of each case and the employee’s particular characteristics, together with the demands placed on them by their employer. An employer will not necessarily be expected to redistribute work at the expense of another employee. The employer will be required to carry out a balancing act as to what action is expected to be taken.

Can work-related stress amount to a disability for the purposes of discrimination?

If an employee is suffering from work-related stress or stress-related illnesses this could be a disability within the meaning of the EqA only if:

the employee has a physical or mental impairment
the impairment has substantial long-term adverse effect
the substantial adverse effects on the employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

However, work-related stress is unlikely in most cases to qualify as a disability, as it must be long-term (ie it has lasted or is likely to last for 12 months).

If an employee with work-related stress can satisfy the definition of disability under the EqA, they will be protected against unlawful treatment by either the employer or a work colleague, if either engages in the following:

What should an employee do if they are feeling stressed due to work?

If an employee is feeling stressed at work, they should raise any issue that is making them feel stressed as soon as possible either to their line manager or an HR representative. Any discussion that is had with either should be confirmed in writing to protect the employee's position should their employer later suggests that they were not aware of the issue.

An employer faced with an employee who is suffering from stress in the workplace, may take practical steps to help the employee, such as:

reviewing their job description to ensure they are carrying out the right amount of work
providing (further) training and regular meetings
providing flexible working arrangements
adjusting the role duties.

If an employee does not receive help from an employer regarding the stress they are suffering at work, they may raise a formal grievance adopting their employer's grievance procedures or the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Marjon Law can help all grievance processes.

If the stress an employee is suffering affects their health, they may be signed off work by their GP. The employee is entitled to statutory sick pay for up to 28 weeks of absence from work. In some instances, the employee may also be entitled to occupational sick pay at their normal wage for a period of time.

What can an employee do if an employer fails to deal properly with an employee suffering from stress?

If an employer fails to do with an employee who is suffering from work-related stress (whether the employee has brought a grievance or not), the employee may have grounds for resigning and claiming constructive dismissal. However, before an employee resigns, they should take legal advice (preferably from Marjon Law) as there are hurdles to overcome for an employee to prove they have been constructively dismissed.

Can an employer contact an employee when they have been signed off work because of stress?

In short yes, provided the contact is fair and appropriate to manage the situation. In some instances, this can be beneficial to an employee so to avoid them feeling isolated or ignored. Such contact should in most cases be limited to arranging for an employee's return to work and not to deal with issues of a general nature.

If there are specific time-sensitive issues, such as relating to redundancy, disciplinary or performance issues, then then it may be appropriate for employers to make contact. However, whether or not the employer is acting reasonably in such circumstances will depend on the facts of the case. This can in certain situations give rise to a claim for constructive dismissal.

Can an employee be dismissed because they are suffering from work-related stress?

An employer is not obligated to allow an employee to be absent from work indefinitely. An employer can ultimately dismiss an employee for long-term sickness absence if it is not reasonably foreseeable that they will be able to return to work, or if the employer considers that the employee is no longer capable of carrying out the role. However, the employer should carry out a fair process before doing so by following its own disciplinary procedure or the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

What remedies are available for work-related stress?

If an employee believes an employer has failed to deal with their work-related stress properly and decides to resign, they can bring an employment tribunal claim for constructive dismissal .

In some instances, depending on the severity of the work-related stress, an employee may also be able to bring a personal claim in the civil courts and advice should be sought from a specialist personal injury lawyer.

However, many work-related stress claims are avoided where a severance arrangement is reached between an employer and employee, and this will be finalised in a settlement agreement. Marjon Law can provide advice on the best resolution in such a situation.

How long do you have to bring a claim?

Generally, claims must be received by an employment tribunal within 3 months of the complaining act (ie 3 months less one day). However, this can be extended by Acas early conciliation by up to 6 weeks.

The material contained in this web page is provided for general purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Appropriate legal advice should be sought for specific circumstances and before action is taken.