OSH and stress
by Gubb and Partners – 2005
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Michelle McCarthy, a science teacher, tells the principal that she is stressed. She says that the staff shortages in her department have meant she has had to take on two roles. She is seeing her doctor on a regular basis, and she is taking lots of sick leave She eventually takes extended sick leave because of stress. Can OSH prosecute the school because she has suffered stress?
It appears, following the successful prosecution of a Nelson company by OSH in 2005, that OSH can successfully prosecute schools for stress suffered by teachers.
In that case, a person hired for the accounts department had suffered undue stress and required extensive sick leave. Even though the company had met with her on a number of occasions to sort it out, and even though the company later hired an extra two staff to work with her, this had little effect on the fact they were considered guilty by OSH and the court.
The District Court confirmed that an employer has a duty to take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise 'harm' in the workplace, under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. Stress is regarded as a form of harm.
This was the first successful prosecution of a company/employer for stress, and is an unfortunate development for high-stress industries, including schools.
Schools should:
- have rigorous employment processes to identify employees/prospective employees more susceptible to stress
- take immediate action when a staff member complains of stress. It is not enough to say, "Well, we are all stressed." This may include reducing workload, taking leave, providing counselling, and so on
- keeping a good paper trail of the action taken to address the concerns of the staff member.
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