Stress And New Legislation

Work-related stress may have seemed a distant memory during the summer holidays but with most people now firmly back at work, we report this month on two Court of Appeal cases on stress in the workplace. We also give an overview of employment law developments taking effect next month.

Stress claims in favour of employers

Two recent cases from the Court of Appeal on aspects of stress in the workplace have found in favour of the employer.

In the first, McAdie v Royal Bank of Scotland, the Court of Appeal held that the employer had not dismissed the employee unfairly on the grounds of ill-health, despite the fact that the employer had caused the stress-related illness, which formed the reason for the dismissal. In this case, the employer was held to be responsible for the employee's ill-health as a result of the manner in which it had dealt with her grievance. However, as there was no prospect of the employee returning to work (supported by medical evidence), and as the employee