Posted By Stuff4blokes AM, this has similarities to a high-profile case in the City where a stressed employee returned to find no change, became ill again and eventually won damages of £7 figures. If your organisation fails to address the issues the costs could be very high, for the employee, their family, for colleagues and for the employer. What is the cause(s) of the stress? Simple overwork may be compounded by a variety of other factors. You mention support, insufficient training but have you considered bullying, unrealistic targets, intellectual or physical inability to do the job, out-of-work issues... and focussing on the individual is probably less effective than looking at the wider issues. The approach to this should be multi-disciplinary, including not only H&S but also HR, Occ health, operational management, colleagues and senior management. Good luck.

Posted By martinw Hi AM drop me a mail too. I have a list of cases which should prove useful(too big for a forum entry) Cheers Martin

Posted By Raymond Rapp Civil law is changing quite quickly in this particular field and is a 'slippery slope'. Nevertheless, liability will only arise where the employer was aware or should have been aware that a problem exists. Clearly, in the precis provided, the employer is aware. The principle case in this field is Walker v Northumberland County Council [1995] IRLR 35. Another significant case is Hatton v Sutherland [2002] 2 All ER 1 (CA), a conjoined Court of Appeal hearing where 16 propositions plus caveats were decided in order to provide clarity and consistency in stress related cases for circuit judges. Finally, the notion that tertiary controls such as counselling will discharge an employer's duty of care has also been challenged.