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Workplace Stress: THE LEGAL ESSENTIALS - Case Law update April 2008

 

The summaries of cases on these pages illustrate developments in the Law of Workplace Stress 1999 to 2007.

 

Workplace Stress

 

Foreseeability: Working Conditions

 

Foreseeability: Reasonable Steps

 

Foreseeability: Evidence: Notice of Psychiatric Injury

 

Foreseeability: Contract

 

Foreseeability: Contributory Negligence

 

Foreseeability: Depression

 

Foreseeability: Excessive Workload

 

Foreseeability: Work Overload

 

Foreseeability: Leading Case

 

Foreseeability: Arrangements for Return to Work

 

Victim classification: Employee Witnessing Colleague’s Death

 

Victim classification: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

 

Constructive dismissal: Implied Term to take Reasonable Care for Health and Safety of Employees

 

Constructive Dismissal: Medical Evidence

 

Unfair Dismissal: Cause of Illness

 

Unfair Dismissal: Employment Tribunal: Compensation for Personal Injury

 

Unfair dismissal: Common Law Remedy

 

Disability Discrimination: Anxiety Disorder: Medical Evidence

 

Disability Discrimination: Disability: Medical Diagnosis

 

Disability Discrimination: Disability: Evidence of Mental Impairment

 

Damages: Causation: Exacerbation of Pre-existing Condition

 

Damages: Quantum: Bullying at Work

 

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Medical Evidence

 

Damages: Quantum: Anxiety Resulting from Minor Physical Injury

 

Damage: Meaning

 

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Victim of Armed Robbery

 

Service Personnel: Safe System of Work

 

Employment Tribunal Procedure: Postponement of Hearing: Medical Evidence

 

Criminal liability

 

Foreseeability: Race Discrimination

 

Breach of Contract: Unfair Dismissal

 

Knowledge of Employer: Special Educational Needs School Teacher

 

Foreseeability: Stress Reduction Policy

 

Vicarious Liability: Breach of Statutory Duty: Harassment

 

Psychiatric Injury: Harassment: Foreseeability

 

Stress: Duty of Care Owed: Foreseeability

 

Stress: Duty of Care Owed: Workload

 

Stress: Foreseeability: Vicarious Liability

 

Psychiatric Injury: Foreseeability: Duty of Care

 

Post-traumatic Shock: Definition

 

Post-traumatic Shock: Suicide: Causation

 

Stress:duty of Care Owed: Workload

 

Psychiatric Injury: Foreseeability: Duty of Care

 

Post-traumatic Shock: Definition

 

Duty of Care Owed: Knowledge of Employer

 

 

Workplace Stress:

The Legal Essentials

April 2008

Health & Safety

Case Law update

April 2008

Disability Discrimination Update

April 2008

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Unfair Dismissal: Cause of Illness

 

Frewin v Consignia plc (2003) IRS Employment Review 789, EAT

 

F was employed by the Post Office between 1990 and 2000.  On a number of occasions he raised grievances about the way in which he was being treated by his colleagues.  In July 1999 he went off work with a stress-related illness and never returned.  In August 2000 he was dismissed on medical grounds.  F complained of unfair dismissal, alleging that his incapacity was a direct result of harassment, bullying, victimisation and humiliation in the workplace, and management’s complicity in this.  He claimed that the Post Office had acted willfully in refusing to follow up his complaints of harassment.  This had placed him under pressure so that he became ill and was then dismissed.

 

The employment tribunal dismissed his complaint.  It stated that tribunals should ignore the cause of an illness when deciding whether an employer acted reasonably in dismissing an employee for incapacity.  Such evidence may be taken into account when assessing compensation.

 

F appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal which dismissed his appeal on the basis that there was no causative link between the conduct of the employer and the incapacity responsible for the dismissal.  But it stated that in considering the fairness of a dismissal on the ground of incapacity, an employment tribunal is entitled to take into account the fact that the incapacity was caused by the employer.