News and Knowledge

Kindness at Work – it goes further than you think

Work can be a place where people are put under pressure to meet targets or hit deadlines which can cause periods of stress and anxiety – and in these times, kindness is crucial.   According to research, kindness not only creates a pleasant working environment, it yields positive outcomes for businesses. Whether you’re just starting…

Workers can sue for stress without formal diagnosis, judge rules

Employees who suffer from work-related stress can sue their employers for disability discrimination, even if they have not been diagnosed with a mental illness, an employment judge has suggested.   The ruling came after an NHS worker, who is in the process of suing her employer for discrimination, was found to be disabled at an…

What is Work-Related Stress and how to make a claim – Stress Awareness Day 2023

Stress Awareness Day is here to highlight how stress can affect your life in different ways and how you can get help.   Stress can affect people differently, whether that be at home, work, physically, or psychologically. Read part one of this two-part series here. Every person will have different triggers of stress which means…

What is workplace discrimination?

Discrimination in the workplace can occur in many different ways. In this article we aim to break down the list of protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010, which provides legal protection to employees.   Protected characteristics encompass fundamental parts of you as an individual, and cannot be legally discriminated against by an employer.  …

How do I make a claim for stress at work?

Suffering from work-related stress is bad enough in itself, but it may feel like an impossible, uphill battle to seek legal advice regarding it at the same time.   It is more than likely that you will have anxiety, fatigue from sleepless nights, and a feeling of nausea, with a sensation that the world is…

Types of Stress at work claims

Living with high levels of stress over a long period of time can be damage your mental health to the point where medical intervention may be necessary.   Employers are legally obliged to ensure that they are looking after the physical and mental wellbeing of employees to the best of their ability. If this obligation…

Male suicide rates and possible factors

A recent article about the urgent need for charity funding to help stem alarming male suicide rates in the UK has us considering possible reasons behind the figures.   Every individual case is as unique as it is utterly tragic, but in this article we explore some of factors that may contribute to so many…

What counts as workplace sexual harassment?

What is sexual harassment, what can be classed as ‘the workplace’, and what are your rights if you experience it?   This article aims to answer the above questions. Individual working circumstances are guaranteed to vary wildly, but we aim to cover some basic examples.     Examples of sexual harassment There are many examples…

Long term sickness in the workforce, and possible causes

Long term sickness is a constant battle for both employees and employers alike.   So what may be contributing to the record numbers of long term sickness in the workforce? In this article, we focus on five factors that can have a negative effect on mental health.   Long working hours Long working hours are…

Mental health problems in the legal profession

Did you know? A study by the Law Society of England and Wales found that legal professionals are more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population.   The study found that 42% of solicitors reported feeling stressed or very stressed in the past year, with 34% reported having experienced mental health problems.…