‘Failure to tackle workplace stress in your organisation could lead to costly litigation!’
Since 1995, when the record sum of £175,000 was awarded as compensation for workplace stress — Walker vs. Nothumberland County Council, cases of stress litigation have trebled in the UK, with the number of cases rising each year. Payouts as high as £300,000 are becoming common place, but damages can be much higher when legal costs, sick pay, bad publicity and loss of reputation are taken into account. The ISMA warns that the true cost of workplace stress has risen from £3.7bn in 1995-6 to over £9bn in 2006.
Stress is now the number one reason for sickness absence
— Gee Publishing Survey
More than two-thirds of people are suffering from work related stress
— ICM Research
Stress is a serious workplace issue which has profound legal consequences for employers. High damages awarded, criminal prosecutions, individual prosecution of directors and managers, plus increasing awareness among employees means that:
Employers who fail to comply with their legal duties in respect of workplace stress do so at their own peril!’
— Sect.37 HSWA
