Posted By AJM I imagine this has been asked before BUT please if i could get an answer. I was recently asked That if Stress is put down on sickness note as work related and the person is off work for longer than 3 days as in RIDDOR, would this be a reportable under RIDDOR. Thanks Alan

Posted By AJM I have since rang HSE direct and asked if the persons sick note stated the stress was work related would it be reportable under RIDDOR and they are saying it isnt in ordinary circumstances (Clear as mud as usual)They said; Accumulated mental state from reoccurring stimuli (i.e. ordinary stress) is not reportable. BUT if the stress is post traumatic caused by an actual physical injury at work or witnessing of an accident or injury then it is reportable.

Posted By anon1234 Agree this is as clear as mud. As with others I have previously been advised by the HSE that it isn't reportable and that it is reportable - depends who you ask it seems. However, if it were considered to be reportable I suspect aht more companies would talk a pro-active approach to managing the issue of work-related stress.

Posted By Heather Collins I don't agree it's as clear as mud. It's much clearer than that to me. The three-day-plus category applies only to injuries. A PTSD resulting directly from a defined incident can easily be seen as an injury in the same way that a strain/sprain relating to a specific incident can. Illnesses/diseases are only reportable if they appear on the list in the schedule to the regulations and arise from one of the specific jobs described. Stress arising over a period of time from a variety of causes isn't on this list (yet...) so it isn't reportable. Exactly the same applies for example to an RSI type injury that arises over a period of time (not due to a single incident) and is not one of those specifically listed.

Posted By Heather Collins The illness statistics aren't collected just from RIDDOR. The last lot made use of the Labour Force Survey for self-reported work-related ill-health. See here http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/sources.htm#lfs

Posted By anon1234 I agree with the posts that state stress is not reportable under RIDDOR, but some people in the HSE disagree it seems and this can make life complicated even if legally you are on solid ground

Posted By J Knight Hi Folks, Please read my previous post and also Kate P's. Stress is not an illness, read HSE's own definitions if you don't believe me; it is a response to intolerable pressure and is a risk factor in the causation of various physical ailments, and can give rise directly to psychological conditions. Stress is a risk factor in hypertension, heart disease, and maybe even some cancers. Stress can cause depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks and so on. So 'stress' cannot be reportable under RIDDOR in any circumstances, though the illness arising from it could be. Stress on a sick-note is of no use; GPS need to be specific about the illness being suffered by the patient, and not too quick to get patients out of the surgery by writing down whatever they're told, John