Wellbeing | How to prevent work-related stress claims

By Tracey Ward, Head of Business Development & Marketing at Generali UK Employee Benefits

As the spotlight continues to shine on the destructive impact of stress in the workplace, it’s reasonable to assume that employers’ liability claims for work-related stress will become more prevalent. To deal with this pressing challenge it’s increasingly important for HR and Risk Managers to take an integrated approach to employee wellbeing.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recently published statistics showing more than 600,000 UK workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2018-2019, resulting in 12.8 million lost working days. Across the same period, these conditions accounted for 44% of all work-related ill-health cases and 54% of all working days lost due to ill-health.

In response to this growing problem, the HSE issued new criteria in September for investigating cases of work-related stress, saying it will investigate if it receives evidence that a “number of staff are experiencing work-related stress or stress-related ill health”. Although the regulator made it clear individual cases wouldn’t be investigated, this new guidance, combined with the findings of the 2017 UK Government-commissioned Stevenson-Farmer review into workplace mental health, shows how organisations are increasingly being held accountable for staff wellbeing.