Heather Platt provides an update on stress related case law
Stress has been described by the Court of Appeal as “an excess of demands upon an individual in excess of their ability to cope” (see Hatton v Sutherland and other appeals [2002] EWCA Civ 76, [2002] All ER (D) 53 (Feb)).
Stress is not a psychiatric injury: however it can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression or exacerbate other conditions such as dyslexia or epilepsy. Employers should be aware that employees may become disabled for the purposes of Disability Discrimination Act 1995, s 1.
The Court of Appeal felt that there are no occupations which should be regarded as intrinsically dangerous to mental health. Further, an employer is entitled to assume that an employee is able to withstand the ordinary pressures of the job and is generally entitled to take what he is told by his employee at face value, unless there is a good reason to think to the contrary.
Case law
The starting point is LJ Hale’s now well known guidelines in Hatton (approved by the House of Lords in Barber
