Jason Spence
As a claimant Employment Law Solicitor, you will often be providing advice upon the merits of employee claims, you’ll perhaps be sitting-in on internal grievance processes, or sometimes representing clients during tribunal cases.
But what do you do when your client has been signed-off from work by their GP due to a Stress-related illness?
You may not already know, but this common occurrence immediately suggests there is an additional & separate Psychiatric Injury. These “Stress At Work” claims will generally settle for significant sums – often for over £100K. However, when these claims are not pursued, it can leave Employment Law Solicitors open to professional negligence for undervaluing the case – which is disastrous for any law firm.
This is where Oakwood’s dedicated Psychiatric Injury Team can assist you and your client. The team of twelve is headed by director, Jessica Rowson, who has appeared on the BBC several times to discuss this niche area of law. By contacting us to refer the separate stress claim, it would leave you to focus upon the initial employment issue, whilst being secure in the knowledge that your client is in the hands of experts.
Other elements which contribute to identifying a “Stress At Work” claim are an employer’s “breach of duty of care”; meaning that the employer is expected to maintain a “safe place”, whether that be in relation to their employee’s workload, being protected from workplace hazards or even from “bullying” colleagues. The other is “foreseeability”, which is often key to a successful claim. This relates to whether the employer had any forewarning of the breach which then lead to your client’s psychiatric injury.
Many employment lawyers reaching out to Oakwood, merely wish to signpost their clients with confidence, whilst others have entered into a compliant introducers’ agreement. Whatever your preference, please contact Rob Crompton today on 0113 200 9722 or email your enquiry to r.crompton@oakwoodsolicitors.co.uk to discuss the next potential steps.