Due to longer hours and higher expectations on staff, stress is becoming a more common phrase to hear in the workplace. Employees and employers alike can feel stressed but it is often their reaction to stress which creates a negative impact at work. This latest case proves this.
In Herry v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council the employee submitted numerous sick notes relating to stress, including stress at work. The employer obtained an occupational health report which found the employee was taking no medication for stress, he was mentally and physically able to carry out his role but there were outstanding management issues that were causing stress and made the employee feel that he was unable to return to work. The employee brought a claim for disability discrimination.
Under the Equality Act 2010, a disability is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial long term adverse effect on the individual’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that stress, alone, was not a mental impairment but was simply a “reaction to life events”. Rather than suffering from a disability, the employee was stressed because he believed he had been unfairly treated and was contributed to by his refusal to comprise or give way and return to work. The stress had little or no effect on his normal day-to-day activities.
Whilst this decision provides some clarity for employers on whether stress is classed as a disability, your client should be careful to not disregard an employee claiming they are stressed. Stress can lead to further medical conditions which may be classed as a disability, for example, depression, and your client should also be trying to address the source of the stress. If it relates to work, is there anything they can do to ease the employee’s reaction? For example, do they need more support or concerns about something in the workplace to be addressed? Not tackling issues about stress when they’re raised by employees could lead to grievances and management issues further down the line.
