Claims for psychiatric injury at work are always challenging; one person’s banter is another person’s bullying, and the line where stress crosses into injury can be blurry at best. Employers must strike balance between gentle health surveillance, monitoring and active intervention.  

Traditionally, an employer with no notice of an employee’s developing difficulties has little to do but provide passive resources and awareness training. But what happens in a post-COVID-19 world where employees have already faced more than a year of lockdowns, increased or decreased workloads, furloughs, closures and redundancies? What happens when employer and employee collide in a battle of wills over enforced testing or mandatory vaccinations? How do employers deal with the threat of claims for psychiatric damage when they are already on active notice that the workforce is stressed to breaking point and, importantly, can they be pre-emptively fended off? Is there a duty for employers to deal with psychiatric issues caused by events outside of their control at all? 

In this webinar, David will look at: 

• How the physical and psychological components of stress and other similar work injuries develop and manifest. 
• The legal elements of psychiatric injury claims, including how they are proved or disproved. 
• The psychological effects of COVID-19. 
• Employers’ duty of care to employees. 
• Health surveillance, screening and proactive intervention. 
• Pre-empting psychiatric harm and dealing with legal challenges post-COVID-19. 

David Mayor (david.mayor@forbessolicitors.co.uk) is a Partner in Forbes Solicitors’ Large Loss Insurance Team. He deals with all aspects of personal injury law, including catastrophic and complex claims. 

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