Let’s clear this up with facts (and a bit of humour, since we could all use less stress…)
Sure, it is “NOT a crime to cause stress.” True, there isn’t a specific law called “Thou shalt not stress-out thy employees.” However, UK employers have a legal duty to protect employees’ health – including mental health – under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). That means if work is causing harmful stress and the employer neglects to act, they’re breaching the law’s duty of care. No police will haul you off for a one-time stressful day, but ignoring work-related stress is a violation of health and safety and can lead to enforcement action. In short: causing unavoidable stress isn’t a criminal offense on its own, but failing to deal with serious work stress can land an employer in legal hot water.
“STRESS is NOT a personal injury [Hatton v Sutherland, 2002] as defined in HSWA 74 S.53(1).”
The Hatton v Sutherland case (2002) is often cited to argue “stress isn’t an injury.” It’s correct that in personal injury lawsuits, an employee needs to show a diagnosed psychiatric injury (like an anxiety disorder or depression, it could be argued that this falls under the Equality Act 2010) – simply saying “I’m stressed” isn’t enough for damages. But this doesn’t erase the employer’s responsibility to prevent that harm in the first place. In fact, HSWA’s Section 53 defines “personal injury” to include “any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition.” In plain English, if work is causing an impairment to someone’s mental health, it’s considered an injury/harm under the law. Work-related stress can and does lead to such mental health impairments, so employers must take action to prevent it. (Whether we call it “stress” or a “nervous breakdown,” the law cares that employees’ health is protected.)
“Please tell us exactly WHICH LAW requires a risk assessment for a condition that is not a personal injury. We keep asking, YOU NEVER ANSWER. Why?”
Gladly! The law is Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). It requires all employers to carry out a “suitable and sufficient assessment” of the risks to health and safety of their employees at work. Note the word “health” – that includes mental health. There’s no list of approved hazards in the regs; if something at work could harm health, you have to assess the risk – stress included. (HSWA 1974 sets the broad duty, and MHSWR 1999 spells out the need for risk assessments to identify and mitigate specific risks.) So yes, UK law explicitly requires employers to risk-assess work-related stress – it’s not a guess or a wish, it’s written in the regulations. I’m answering you now with the exact law you asked for, chapter and verse.
“The 1999 MHSWR says NOTHING about risk assessing stress.”
It’s true the regulations don’t literally spell out the word “stress.” (They also don’t mention “back pain” or “asbestos” by name, but you still have to assess those risks!) The law is framework-based – it covers “any risk to health and safety” without needing to name every possible hazard. Work-related stress is widely recognized by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a significant risk to health that must be assessed and managed like any other. HSE guidance explicitly says “Employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it.”. So, just because “stress” isn’t in neon lettering in the statute doesn’t mean it’s exempt. If it affects employees’ well-being, it’s covered under the general duty to risk-assess and take action.
“The stress management guidelines do NOT have any legal authority… suggestions with NO FORCE OF LAW.”
You’re correct that *HSE’s stress Management Standards and guidance aren’t themselves laws. They are indeed guidance – essentially best-practice recommendations. However, they’re built on the existing legal requirements. You already have to do a stress risk assessment and protect against stress under HSWA/MHSWR; the HSE guidelines just help you do that effectively and for free – it’s open source.
You could think of the Management Standards like a helpful recipe: you don’t have to follow that exact recipe, but you do need to end up with the finished dish (a suitable stress risk assessment and controls). If you choose to ignore the guidelines, you’d better be able to show you still met your legal duties some other way – otherwise an inspector (or judge) won’t be sympathetic. In short, the guidance isn’t law, but the legal duty behind it is very real, and following HSE’s suggestions is the easiest way to comply (and prove you complied).
“STOP LYING.”
No lies here – just the law. Everything above is backed by UK legislation or HSE itself (see the citations). UK employers are required by law to assess and manage work-related stress – that’s a fact, not a fib, with very real consequences for getting it wrong. Shouting in all-caps won’t change the law, I’m afraid. I hope the information above settles the points you raised and turns down the temperature of this debate.
Bottom line:
Under British law, employers must treat work-induced stress as a workplace hazard and take action to control it, just as they would for physical safety risks. Failing to do so can result in HSE enforcement, legal claims, and significant financial penalties – not to mention ill employees, lost productivity, and a damaged reputation. Those are the stakes, and that’s why the law is crystal clear on this issue. No “lying” or scaremongering – just compliance and care. Hopefully this clears things up once and for all, so we can all breathe a little easier (literally and figuratively)!
On another note, I’ve got tickets for ‘Oliver!’ if you want to come? “♫♫ You’ve got to pick a pocket or two! ♫♫” 🙄
