Legal firms eye personal injury claims for work stress

Legal firms eye personal injury claims for work stress

According to Claims.co.uk, the most stressful industries to work in are health and social work (with a reported 3,530 stress-related illnesses per 100,000 workers in a single year); followed by security roles (3,260 per 100,000), education (2,720), professional and science/technology jobs (2,310 stress) and the finance (2,140).

The ‘personal injury experts’ looked at data on self-reported stress illnesses from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) from March 2022 to March 2023, to uncover the UK’s ‘stress landscape’.

Big claims

The report authors highlight the common misconception that employees can only make a claim for compensation based on physical injuries: “If you’ve experienced stress at work, seeking advice from a legal professional is recommended for the best course of action.”

Advice is given to employees on what to do when considering making a claim for personal injury caused by workplace stress. This includes: pinpointing the causes of stress (such as excessive workloads, and a lack of employer support); keeping a daily record of stress triggers; keeping track of GP appointments; and making sure there is a record of how conversations have been initiated with employers to discuss concerns and potential resolutions.

Managing stress

EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “Work can be stressful, in whatever sector. It’s part of the deal in the sense that it goes along with having a role with responsibility, objectives and targets, and a need to work alongside other people with different personalities and agendas. Stress is a positive thing in terms of being part of a natural cycle of motivation, challenge and reward.

“With so much close attention being paid to stress and mental health in workplaces, organisations need to make sure they are monitoring cases of stress — something they can do via EAP data — and paying attention to root causes around work role design and workplace relationships etc. This awareness needs to be backed up by concerted action on how to prevent everyday stress turning into mental health concerns, and again, this is where the professional expertise of an EAP partner is crucial.”