date: Tuesday 29 January 2002

embargo: 00:01 Saturday 2 February 2002

Attention: industrial and legal correspondents, health & safety journals


no rise for union legal cases but stress cases soar

The number of new personal injury claims taken by unions was slightly down on last year but work related stress cases soared, according to a new TUC report published today.

The annual Focus on Services for Injury Victims survey shows:

  • Work related stress increases twelve fold, with 6,428 new cases reported this year, compared with just 516 last year. Many unions report that stress claims represent the largest increase in cases.

  • Members had 51,204 new personal injury claims taken up on their behalf by trade unions this year, down by almost 750.

  • Another 41,252 were settled on behalf of members, with 29,272 claims still outstanding.

  • Awards won by unions for their members were up slightly, at around £321m (see below for regional breakdown).

  • Unions continue to increase the number of services they offer to members’ families. The scope of 'family' is now being extended to dependant parents and grand parents by some unions. This is a development the TUC has been calling for in previous years.

TUC General Secretary John Monks, said:

'Unions took slightly less cases than the year before but the rise in stress cases is very worrying indeed. I do not want to join the ‘blame race’ over stress at work. I want to talk about partnership, because trade unions want to be part of the solution where stress is concerned, not part of the problem. Good management is the solution, and good management means working in partnership with unions.'

'On Monday we will be publishing a report on Britain’s long hours culture ahead of a crucial conference bringing together unions, employers and government to look at the ways work-life balance can boost productivity.'

Case studies

£55,000 AWARD FOR STRESS CAUSED BY OVERWORK

Transport and General Workers’ Union member, Barry Willans, of Stretton, Staffordshire, became the first ever individual to take a private firm to court for stress.

After 32 years with Reckitt and Colman in Derby he was its longest serving employee (and had represented it at Buckingham Palace) when he was sacked for alleged 'incapability' in 1994. He had worked his way up from the shop floor to become manufacturing superintendent. Then, in 1991, he was given increased responsibilities and reduced support staff. Stress-induced anxiety and depression was diagnosed as being produced ' by an increased amount of pressure at work'.

The case went to Derby County Court, which ruled that the stress was caused by pressure to meet performance targets set for him. The company should have adjusted his duties or offered assistance to avoid him being placed under dangerous stress, it added.

' The defendants, knowing that Mr Willans’ problems might have had their origins in pressure of work, continued to subject him to that pressure and, indeed, took steps that had the effect of increasing it,' the court concluded and awarded £55,000 to Barry.

T&G lawyer, Robert Pettit comments, ' It shows employers that stress related illness is as real as physical illness. It could pave the way for many more cases'.

(Source 'T&G Record' April 2001).

PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE IS INDUSTRIAL INJURY.

Social Security Commissioners have awarded industrial injury benefit to two NUT members who suffered serious psychological effects from incidents at work.

In both cases the members believed their teaching was appreciated. One member was then deeply shocked to be told, falsely as it turned out, that he was the subject of parental complaints. The other suffered unfair criticism after an inspection which, evidence suggested, had been contrived to upset him. In both cases initial shock turned to depressive illness. The Social Security Commissioner had to decide whether psychological injury resulting from work could be classed as an industrial injury.

Both members were successful. The Commissioner recognised that where a psychological injury is caused by work which is beyond the ' normal and the reasonable stresses and strains', it is an industrial injury for the purposes of benefit. These cases recognise that employers should avoid unreasonable stress at work and that staff who are made ill by unnecessarily stressful incidents can claim proper benefits.

(Source 'The Teacher' April 2001).

Estimated compensation totals, region-by-region:

National total - £321million

South East and East of England - £61 million

Midlands - £54.57 million

North West - £41.73 million

London - £35.3 million

Scotland - £32.1 million

Yorkshire and Humberside - £32.1 million

South West - £25.68 million

Wales - £19.26 million

North East - £16.05 million

Notes to Editors:

For more information on the TUC’s About Time report (published Monday 4th) and About Time conference: promoting flexibility and tackling excessive working hours (at Congress House on Tuesday 5th), contact the TUC press office on 020 7467 1248.

Investors in People carried out a survey with NOP, published 11 January, revealing that the overwhelming majority, 89 per cent, of bosses still don’t regard stress as having a significant negative impact on productivity. Employees on the other hand are quicker to make the connection, with over a fifth claiming stress is the single biggest barrier affecting their output.

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

A series of TUC rights leaflets, including ‘Your job and the law’ and advice on health and safety are available on our website and from the know your rights line 0870 600 4 882. Lines are open every day from 8am-10pm. Calls are charged at the national rate.

Contacts:

Media enquiries: 020 7467 1248 or email media@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor 020 7467 1325 or email otudor@tuc.org.uk

Press release (1,000 words) issued 2 Feb 2002

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