The following is a selection of the most commonly asked questions relating to stress and the HSE's Management Standards approach to its management.
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Work related stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work. There is a clear distinction between pressure which can be a motivating factor, and stress, which can occur when this pressure becomes excessive.
There is no doubt that work related stress is a serious problem for UK employers. In 2007/08:
The number of people reporting that they are experiencing work related stress at a level that they believe is making them ill appears to have doubled since the early 1990s – in 2007/08 it is estimated that nearly half a million people report suffering from work related stress, depression or anxiety.
This is supported by other data sources such as reports from psychiatrists and occupational physicians are also used. Self-reported data is a valid measure because ‘stress' is dependent on people's perceptions and self-reporting via large surveys is also the most practical way of collecting data that can indicate the scale of work related stress in the British working population.
Employers should be concerned about stress because:
Employers have duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999, to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities; and under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, to take measures to control that risk. The HSE proposes an approach based on a set of Management Standards that provide guidance which is intended to help and encourage employers to meet these existing legal obligations. There are practical things that organisations can do to manage the risks associated with work related stress.
HSE's Management Standards for Stress website provides employers with a comprehensive risk assessment approach to identifying, exploring and tackling work related stress. (See HSE's Guidance.).The web based guide complements HSE's guide ‘Managing the Causes of work related stress, A step-by step approach using the Management Standards' published 2007 (HSG 218).
The Management Standards identify six key areas that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence.
The Management Standards looks at:
HSE's Management Standards for Stress website provides employers with a comprehensive risk assessment approach to identifying, exploring and tackling work related stress.
HSE commissioned a household survey using the indicator tool, provided as part of the Management Standards Approach, from this it was determined how well employees currently rate their employers performance in each of the 6 areas of work design. HSE has set a target which reflects the best 20% of the scores given by the employees and encourages organisations to aspire towards reaching this level.
The first step to developing any new policy is to ensure that there is a firm evidence that the solution proposed is either the only solution or the best solution to meet the problem. At present HSE believes that, if presented with a simple approach, clear standards against which to measure progress, and a convincing business case, organisations will not only realise the benefit of tackling work related stress, but will be in a better position to do so. Academics agree that it is difficult to prescribe ready made solutions to stress. However the HSC will keep the need for an Approved Code of Practice under review.
HSE's approach to tackling work related stress is guidance only. HSE will undertake enforcement action where duty holders fail to carry out the legally required suitable and sufficient risk assessment. An organisation would be unlikely to be subject to enforcement action by HSE provided it could demonstrate it had adequately assessed the risks and was taking steps to address any problems identified.
Yes, but any alternative approach must include the key features for a risk assessment.
HSE has published a Managing sickness absence and return to work: An employers' and managers' guide. The guide outlines a best practice approach to help and encourage employers to work in with employees to manage sickness absence and help those off work sick to return to work.
The guide is available in hard copy format from HSE Books, priced £9.95. It has also been made available on the sickness absence website.
Familiarise yourself with HSE's risk factors and Management Standards so you can contribute more fully to discussions
The employee leaflet is available to download for free.
It depends on what you already have in place and what needs to be done, however, the savings brought about by managing work related stress should outweigh any costs. A healthier workforce is more efficient and productive and suffers from less sickness absence and staff turnover.
No. The Management Standards approach should actually make it easier for employers to demonstrate they have acted reasonably – provided they have followed it or something similar.
Employers have duties under the “Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations,” 1999, to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities; and under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, to take measures to control that risk. The Management Standards are not legal requirements – they are guidance which is intended to help and encourage employers to meet their legal obligations.
No, neither work related stress nor stress-related illnesses are reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
This is because the causes of stress-related ill health are usually extremely complex and linking conditions to specific types of work activity would be very difficult. The question of whether to include occupational stress as a RIDDOR reportable disease was considered during the development of the current Regulations. On the advice of HSC's Occupational Health Advisory Committee, it was not included.
This does not mean that stress cannot be raised with the enforcing authorities nor does it mean that a complaint cannot be made which could result in an investigation. While work related stress is not reportable, employers have duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to assess and manage the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities, and under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,
There have been a number of cases in the Civil Courts and still more have been settled out of Court, often without admission of liability by the employer.
Mrs Wheeldon (part time job share manager) was signed off work for three weeks due to stress after suffering a panic attack at work. Alternative posts were offered to the claimant upon her return, but she opted to remain were she was. Despite a report warning of a reoccurrence of the symptoms her manager made no changes to her duties which ultimately led to Mrs Wheeldon's resignation. It was the court's decision that the employer had breached its duty of care and allowed her depression to “continue and flourish”. Damages were awarded and a further payment for pain, suffering and loss of amenities.
The claimant suffered flashbacks and nightmares after witnessing a number of suicides in his work at a prison. There was no sign of work related stress before he stopped work. Staff care and support arrangements were in place if a death occurred, with the onus on the employee to ask for this care. In this case, the claimant was unaware of how to access this help and it was not offered to him. It was decided that the scheme was an adequate one but a breach of duty arose when it was not implemented. The claimant was successful.
The claimant had a history of breakdown that was reported to the Occupational Health Doctor who passed her as fit for the job. In later years, her depression recurred. In the first instance, it was decided that it was reasonably foreseeable to the employer, but at appeal, it was ruled that this information was held in confidence between the claimant and the doctor, and it was not foreseeable to management. The original ruling was overturned.
HSE has issued improvement notices in respect of stress where employers have failed to assess the risk of work related stress in the workplace or where having carried out a risk assessment they have failed take adequate steps to address those risks.
No. HSE's approach to tackling work related stress is not enforcement led. However, where appropriate HSE will investigate complaints relating to work related stress and enforcement action may be taken if there is clear evidence of a breach of health and safety law, and a demonstrable risk to the health and safety of employees.
An organisation that has carried out a risk assessment based on the Management Standards approach that identified major problems/issues, would be unlikely to be subject to enforcement action if it could demonstrate it was taking steps to address those problems/issues.
Yes. Over the last few years there have been several Improvement Notices served on organisations
The case studies on the Individual Experience Case Studies page can be downloaded by clicking the 'download video' section for general use. If the video is to be re-used as part of a commercial product or service, the user will have to apply for a Public Sector Information (PSI for short) Crown copyright click-use licence at the Office of Public Sector Information website. Users will have to agree to the obligations placed on licence holders which can be viewed on the OPSI site.
An enhanced DVD of the case studies which incorporates subtitling in English and Welsh and a British Sign Language facility can be purchased from HSE Books, ISBN 9780717663910, £10.00 + VAT.
There have been discussions both within HSE and with sector representatives about the viability of sector specific versions of the Indicator Tool. Although it may be relatively straightforward to develop new questions and validate them to develop alternative versions of the indicator tool there are significant challenges to be overcome.
To develop a sector specific questionnaire all staff in that sector would need to work in similar organisations but this is unlikely to be the case and there may be significant differences within the sector. For example within the NHS there are foundation trusts, acute trust, mental health trusts, ambulance trusts etc. all of which believe they are unique and all of whom want specific versions of our tools. The same is true of education where there are not only issues with the level of education, Primary, Higher, Further education etc. but there are Foundation Schools, LEA Schools, Charity Schools, Fee Paying schools, Academies, Universities, Colleges etc, and again these all consider they have unique situations that would require specific versions of the tools.
For each version of the indicator tool created there would need to be an equivalent version of the analysis tool and associated benchmark data. This would be a time consuming task and would consume a significant amount of HSE resource.
The purpose of the Indicator Tool is to provide an indication of an organisation's performance against the six risk factors identified within the Management Standards. The Indicator Tool is one tool that should be used as part of a larger process; the data from the indicator tool should not be used in isolation but compared with other data available from within the organisation. The results should then be discussed with staff within the organisation to identify whether a problem exists, where that problem is and what to do next.
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