West Midland employers have been urged to assess the risks of stress in the workplace. Smita Jamdar, an expert on the subject and a partner in law firm Martineau Johnson, is warning those who fail to do so could face legal action and extensive damages if workers fall ill. The advice comes in the wake of the recent House of Lords judgment that a 59-year-old teacher should receive £72,000 damages, along with interest, from his local authority employer. "This ruling means that employers are obliged to be sympathetic to employees suffering from stress and will need to consider adapting workloads accordingly," said Ms Jamdar. "And it is also clear that they have to monitor the situation, which is where stress risk assessments come in." The recent case, which was Barber v Somerset County Council, had initially been decided by the Court of Appeal in favour of the council, but the Lords reversed this decision. "The previous decision had suggested that employers didn't need to be proactive in terms of stress management, but the new ruling makes it clear that this is not enough," said Ms Jamdar. "In this case, it was said that the council were positively unsym-pathetic to the employee when he returned to work after a period of absence through stress and it was clear that this was not acceptable. "But the real message of the judgement is that employers have to maintain awareness of where and how stress can be caused and operate systems which are designed to identify and follow up potential problem situations. "If such procedures are not in place, the employee may have grounds to sue. "Beyond maintaining the awareness and having procedures to pinpoint actual or potential stress, employers have to show the kind of sympathetic consideration and practical support that their lordships thought was missing in the Barber case. "Businesses have to take the initiative to protect employees they know are vulnerable." The Barber case is not the only clear warning for employers, says Ms Jamdar, who is co-author of a book on workplace stress. She went on: "The Health and Safety Executive has published some challenging management standards on the subject too, backed by the threat of enforcement notices and criminal action. "The courts and employment tribunals have also been extending employers' liabilities across a broad front where stress is involved. "For example, if disciplinary action or dismissal causes unacceptable stress, there is a very real chance of a successful claim by the employee concerned. Businesses have to take action to manage workplace stress and directors can't afford to wait until a clear case arises." This, says Ms Jamdar, is not only to ensure that they keep away from the courts and avoid being hit by large damages claims. It is also because stressed staff tend to be short on productivity and customer service. "In turn, this is something to which all employers have to be sensitive in today's challenging and competitive environment," she said. | 
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