OCCUPATIONAL STRESS: LEGAL ISSUES AND POSSIBLE NEW DIRECTIONS FOR RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOUR COUNSELLORS AND TRAINERS
STEPHEN PALMER PhD
Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and the Centre for Stress Management, London
This paper outlines some of the legal issues involved in claims against employers for occupational stress with reference to the recent John Walker versus Northumberland County Council case. Guidance for employers and resource information for rational emotive behaviour counsellors, therapists and trainers is provided.
Introduction
John Walker's successful claim against his employer, Northumberland County Council, for stress has led some employers to reassess their employee liability. It is possible that the £200,000 damages awarded focused their attention to this issue (Palmer, 1995a). (NB. This case was later settled out of court.)
Although employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of their staff many have chosen not to take the subject of stress seriously. In recent years some employers have decided to deal with organisational stress by offering stress counselling, and/or by running stress seminars and stress management workshops. However, only a minority of organizations have focused their interventions on removing the primary causes of stress such as role conflict, role overload or poor working conditions. Worst still, downsizing, and delayering has led to increased work overload during this decade. This has been in the pursuit of increased profits. In Britain employees are now working longer hours than their European Union counterparts. Although the average of 43 hours per week has been quoted for British employees, this figure hides the fact that many individuals are working far longer hours.
This article focuses on the John Walker vs Northumberland County Council case, key issues relating to occupational stress, guidance for employers, possible implications and resource materials for Rational Emotive Behaviour therapists and counsellors who wish to work in the growing field of stress management and occupational stress counselling.
John Walker versus Northumberland County Council
In Britain employees suffering from occupational stress can expect to experience extreme difficulty in winning a claim for damages against their employer. However, the John Walker case had a number of special aspects to it that are worth considering.
John Walker managed four teams of social workers who were responsible for child abuse cases in the Blyth Valley area of Northumberland. During the early 1980s the population in the Blyth Valley increased and this led to an increased workload for the teams in particular in child care problems. As the work pressure increased, the subsequent levels of stress increased too. During November 1986 Mr Walker suffered from a 'nervous breakdown'. He did not return to work until March 1987.
An important factor in this case was that Mr Walker's doctor noted his levels of anxiety and stress were only related to his work pressures and NOT any other personal issues. Also Mr Walker had no previous history of mental disorders. In February 1987 Mr Walker's employers agreed that he would receive assistance from a principal field work officer on his return to work. The officer was supposed to stay as long as it was considered necessary. When Mr Walker went back to work in March the support was withdrawn by April 1987. Once again he started suffering from the symptoms of stress which he again reported to his employers. By late September he received medical advice to take sick leave due to his stress related condition. He then suffered a second mental breakdown which left him incapable of either returning to a similar job in social services or others which would involve considerable responsibility. By February 1988 he was dismissed by his employers on the grounds of permanent ill-health.
During the court proceedings Mr Justice Colman asked a number of relevant questions including, "Given that professional work is intrinsically demanding and stressful, at what point is the employer's duty to take protective steps engaged?" He also stated, "there is no logical reason why risk of psychiatric damage should be excluded from the scope of an employer's duty of care or from the co-extensive implied term in the contract of employment.."
The important aspect of this case for counsellors who specialise in helping clients with occupational stress problems is that the employers could have foreseen the second mental breakdown as the situation had not basically altered on his return to work after the first mental breakdown (see Mays and Gregor, 1995). This particular case highlighted a number of important issues relating to stress and the law and helped to clarify certain points such as when the employer is expected to be able to foresee a stress-related mental illness arising.
Key issues relating to occupational stress
The list below summarises a number of regulations and issues that employers should be aware of if wishing to avoid successful litigation (adapted Palmer, 1995a, pp.55-56):
1. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, came into force on January 1 1993. All employers must assess risks to health and safety and implement avoidance and control measures. Stress is a hazard that could be included in the risk assessments.
2. In addition to the common law duty, the employer has an implied duty under the contract of employment that all reasonable steps are taken to protect the employee from foreseeable risks that may harm a person physically and/or mentally.
3. In the John Walker case, the judge ruled it was not a defence that the employer was a public body.
4. The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (amended by Schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992) ensured that trade union safety representatives have a legal right to: carry out inspections, investigate hazards and complaints, receive information from the employers regarding health and safety, and be consulted by employers about any health and safety issues.
5. The Courts will be interested in any external non-work related cause of stress which may have contributed to the alleged occupational stress. This could negatively effect the level of damages awarded.
6. In stressful occupations such as the police force, social and health services, the employer should minimise the risks and treat staff who have suffered from violence at work with due care. Employers should ensure that staff at risk have received adequate training to deal with violent clients. If employees do suffer from assault, then they should receive support, paid leave, and professional counselling. Often assaults or other traumatic events can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the sufferer may need professional help to recover. Technically speaking employers could also be held responsible if they offered poor quality counselling. In stressful occupations employers should demonstrate that employees at risk receive adequate supervision thus ensuring that stress can be detected.
7. The Courts are interested whether the mental health risk was foreseeable.
8. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 obliges employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees.
The list is not comprehensive but covers some of the main issues. Essentially, the courts are concerned whether stress has led to some form of psychological damage. Working in a stressful job and suffering from stress is not necessarily sufficient to lead to a successful claim.
Guidance for employers
Taking into account the Mr Walker case and the existing legislation employers are advised to adopt all reasonable measures to deal with employee stress. The following are simple guidelines that employers may find useful (Palmer, 1995a):
A stress audit to identify all potential workplace stressors can be carried out at the same time the risk assessment is undertaken. Wherever possible employers should implement avoidance and control measures.
Key personnel such as managers and personnel officers should receive training to recognise stress related problems such as high absenteeism etc.
The organisation should have a 'stress policy' or guidelines so that staff know what to do if they are suffering from stress e.g. referrals to specialists, elimination of the stressor etc.
Attempt to create an atmosphere at work that encourages staff to ask for assistance when they are suffering from stress.
Instead of just offering staff stress management workshops, employers could set up stress working parties that would actively involve the staff, trade unions and other representatives who could then develop stress policies and make other useful recommendations. This would also have the benefit of legitimising stress as an issue that the company is taking seriously. This could encourage previously reticent staff to seek help when suffering from stress.
Implications, resources and training
Since the John Walker case it is likely that counsellors may start to receive more requests to run stress management workshops, seminars or courses. The demand for stress counselling services is also increasing. These are services that can be provided in-house or externally to companies not only helping the organisations but also their employees. The training materials to run workshops and seminars (e.g. BBC, 1991; Clarke and Palmer, 1994; Wycherley, 1990) specialist books on PTSD, stress counselling and occupational stress (e.g. Scott and Stradling, 1992; Palmer and Dryden, 1995; Ross and Altmaier, 1994) and bibliotherapy materials are easily available (e.g. Dryden, and Gordon, 1992, 1993; Palmer and Strickland, 1995; 1996). One recent Health and Safety Executive publication (Cox, 1993) covers occupational stress research and stress management and is thoroughly recommended for practitioners interested in this field of work.
Counsellors who wish to work in this specialist area may benefit from undertaking further continuing professional development on stress management (see footnote) by attending relevant short training programmes in addition to reading appropriate literature. An understanding of stress auditing procedures and relevant questionnaires would also be beneficial (e.g. Cooper et al., 1988; Cooper and Cartwright, 1994). Due to the nature of litigation and court proceedings, it is recommended that counselling psychologists keep good records when working with clients seeking damages from their employers. In the author's experience this also applies when clients are seeking compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for PTSD arising from violence at work. Some claims may take at least five years to reach fruition!
REBT counsellors who offer occupational stress counselling or stress management training can target key irrational beliefs that often lead to stress in employees (Ellis, 1972; Abrams and Ellis, 1994; Palmer, 1995b; Palmer, Dryden and Ellis, 1993, pp. 51):
Premise:
I must do better
You must treat me better
My working conditions must be better
People must like me
Derivatives:
I won't do well and that would be awful
I can't stand my working conditions
If people don't like me, I am pretty worthless
The REBT approach can also include behavioural skills training such as time management, communication and assertion skills. However adequate time needs to be allocated to these additional areas if they are included in a stress management programme to ensure long term use by the participants (see Kushnir and Malkinson, 1993). Sometimes 'booster' sessions are necessary to preserve short-term gains.
Conclusion
It is likely that litigation and further claims against employers for stress leading to psychological damage will increase over the next 10 years. In fact, the author is aware of a number of claims currently going through the legal system. Occupational stress counselling and stress management services are two areas in which qualified and experienced REBT counsellors are in an ideal position to offer their skills, knowledge and expertise. In particular, helping individuals to manage internal demands and external pressures thereby reducing stress related disorders and preventing burnout.
References
Abrams, M. and Ellis, A. (1994). Rational emotive behaviour therapy in the treatment of stress. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 22, 1, 39-50.
BBC (1991). Managing Pressure at Work. London: BBC Training Videos.
Clarke, D. and Palmer, S. (1994). Stress Management: Trainers Notes. Cambridge: National Extension College.
Cooper, C. L., Sloan, S. J. and Williams, S. (1988). Occupational Stress Indicator. Windsor: ASE.
Cooper, C. L. and Cartwright, S. (1994). Stress management interventions in the workplace: stress counselling and stress audits. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 22, 1, 65-73.
Cox, T. (1993). Stress Research and Stress Management: Putting Theory to Work. HSE Contract Research Report No. 61/1993.
Dryden, W. and Gordon, J. (1992). Think Rationally: A Brief Guide to Overcoming Your Emotional Problems. London: Centre for Stress Management.
Dryden, W. and Gordon, J. (1993). Peak Performance: Become More effective at Work. Didcot: Mercury Business Books.
Ellis, A. (1972). Executive Leadership: a Rational Approach. New York: Institute for RET.
Kushnir, T. and Malkinson, R. (1993). A rational-emotive group intervention for preventing and coping with stress among safety officers. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy, 11, 4, 195-206.
Mays, R. and Gregor, S. (1995). Stress at work and the employer's duty of care. The Safety and Health Practitioner, 13, 10, 22-24.
Palmer, S. (1995a). Occupational stress and the law. Journal of The Institute of Health Education, 33, 2, 55-56.
Palmer, S. (1995b). A comprehensive approach to industrial rational emotive behaviour stress management workshops. The Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 3, 1, 45-55.
Palmer, S. and Dryden, W. (1995). Counselling for Stress Problems. London: Sage.
Palmer, S., Dryden, W. and Ellis, A. (1993). Ellis on REBT. The Rational-Emotive Therapist, 11, 2, 91-108.
Palmer, S. and Strickland, L. (1995). Stress Management: A Quick Guide. Cambridge: Daniels Publishing.
Palmer, S. and Strickland, L. (1996). Stress Management: A quick Guide. Dunstable: Folens.
Ross, R. R. and Altmaier, E. M. (1994). Intervention in Occupational Stress: a Handbook of Counselling for Stress at Work. London: Sage.
Scott, M. J. and Stradling, S. G. (1992). Counselling for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. London: Sage.
Wycherley, R. J. (1990). Stress at Work. East Sussex: Outset.
Footnote: Courses are available at the Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, London, run in association with the Centre for Stress Management, London.
Copyright S. Palmer, 1995. Article published in 1995, in The Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 3, 2, 86-94.
(This extended article was based on a short paper previously published in Counselling Psychology Review, 10, 4, 1995; Legal Aspects of Occupational Stress). The author accepts no responsibility for any interpretation of the law that may be inaccurate in this article. Individuals/organisations should consider receiving professional legal advice if they believe that they need guidance on any issues raised in this article.
Correspondence:
Stephen Palmer PhD, Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, 156 Westcombe Hill, London, SE3 7DH, England. Tel: (0181) 293 4114. FAX: (0181) 293 1441.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2008. Centre for Postgraduate Studies & Research Ltd. Corporate
Members of the Institute of Health Promotion & Education. Website last updated
04/02/2008. Legal
notices.
Centre for Postgraduate Studies & Research Ltd
(no. 4036307) is registered in England & Wales. Registered address: 156
Westcombe Hill, London, SE3 7DH
