Is Stress a Disability?
Up to 60% of those absent from work at any one time are suffering from stress related illnesses. The soon to be published Freud Report on welfare reform will focus on the 2.7 million people on incapacity benefit – many of whom are suffering from stress and depression. Government Ministers are stated to believe that up to a million of those on incapacity benefit should be able to return to work and during 2006, the NHS rolled out a scheme to stress and depression sufferers offering them dancing lessons – to cheer them up, help them socialise and help them to exercise. If only it were that simple!
The medical profession are concerned that the true impact of mental health problems in Britain is being masked and that it is a sleeping giant waiting to be roused. Stress can have an impact on mental and physical health – both in the short term and the long term. Stress should not be feared, but it should be respected. It is because of the huge impact it can have on sufferers that LawCare offers free (except for expenses) presentations to the legal profession on stress recognition and management, as it believes that early recognition of the problem is vitally important. Realising that you are under stress gives you the opportunity to address the situation you are in, together with how you are reacting to it and so to take some control over the stressors in your life.
Long term stress can lead to feelings of lethargy, lack of concentration, poor judgment, lack of enthusiasm and guilt - to name but a few of the symptoms. When not addressed, stress may lead to an inability to cope at work and having to have time off on sick leave. This illness also has an impact beyond that on the sufferer, with the depleted department left one person short and co-workers being caused additional stress as a result. Some sufferers are able to return to work after a short period of recharging their batteries, but others will not return for a very long time, and some never return to their original career at all. They may need to depend on state benefits.
Does this make stress and the symptoms which accompany it a disability? Unsurprisingly, this can be a grey area. The Government now defines disability as an illness that is clinically recognised and has lasted over 12 months but that does not necessarily include an inability to work. Where does stress feature when deciding if someone is suffering from a disability? Depression is recognised as a disability but stress, despite the dire physical and mental effects it has for some people, may not be so recognised. It is not until the stress has deteriorated into clinical depression that it will be dealt with as an illness, which has consequences for stress sufferers. Those suffering from a disability can expect to be treated by their employer in a particularly sensitive way according to current legislation, but not necessarily those suffering from something so subjective as stress.
Some law firms are stating on their web sites that stress is not classed as a disability. Others are less certain. What is clear is that all employers should be far more aware of employees with stress related illnesses and that they have a duty, both on legal and moral grounds, to provide as stress-free an environment for them as possible. However, whether those suffering the effects of stress will have the protection of disability legislation to further enhance their position remains untested and until there has been some case law, their position will remain uncertain.
What is entirely clear is that the legal profession has high levels of absenteeism through stress related illnesses, which is why LawCare (a charity funded by the professional bodies for most sections of the legal profession) offers a 365 day a year, confidential helpline to assist troubled lawyers. LawCare also offers presentations to training centres, law schools, societies and firms, emphasising the importance of stress recognition and management. These are free other than expenses and carry CPD points. LawCare is anxious to reach out to all sectors of the profession to help in preventing stress or, at least, to assist in recognising and dealing with it in better and more appropriate ways.
For further information on LawCare’s range of presentations call 0870 774 3663.
For confidential support and assistance, call 0800 279 6888.