Stress Claims & Employment Litigation - The Key Factors for Legal Advisers & HR Professionals

Introduction

Claims involving an employment related stress injury give rise to numerous practical challenges and legal issues.

This virtual classroom seminar focusses upon a number of matters that need to be considered at an early stage in any contemplated or anticipated litigation.

The anatomy of these claims and the appropriate pre-actions steps to be taken will differ markedly in a High Court setting, where personal injury damages are pursued based on a claim for breach of the duty of care, compared with a stress related injury claim in the Employment Tribunal, which is dependent upon a finding of discrimination.

This live session will explore these issues together with the key factors to be taken into consideration before reaching a final determination whether to pursue a claim involving allegations of stress related injury in the High Court or in the Employment Tribunal.

It will also consider practical issues surrounding the conduct of disciplinary and grievance processes, which are so often the breeding grounds from which actionable claims arise.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• Practical implications for employers arising from the fluctuating nature of psychiatric conditions
• The need for Claimant legal advisers to ensure compliance with SRA Principle 7 (‘acting in the best interests of each client’) when deciding whether to take a client’s case on
• Comparing and contrasting the legal and practical factors influencing the appropriate choice of forum: High Court v Employment Tribunal
• The different cost regimes and impact in the High Court of Qualified One Way Cost Shifting (QOCS) in limiting the liability of a Claimant for the Defendant's costs in personal injury claims
• The different limitation periods in the High Court and Employment Tribunal
• Whether foreseeability of injury is always required
• Causation issues
• Practical implications for HR advisers
• Potential exposure to reputational damage
• Medical records: friend or foe? Consideration of issues arising from Pre-Employment Health Questionnaires
• The dangers arising from imposing a knee jerk suspension and an unfair pre dismissal process and when is a claim likely to fall within the Johnson exclusion zone and why does that matter

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.