Abstract

Thousands of new cases of stress, anxiety and depression are being reported in the workplace every year.

In the North East alone it is reported that 531,000 days are lost to stress, depression or anxiety costing around £57m to the local economy.

But exactly what rights do workers have and what duty of care do employers have to their staff?

Here Dr Sarah Pickup, Senior Lecturer in Health, Safety and Wellbeing at the University of Sunderland, outlines workers’ entitlements and explains why an approach change is needed if we are to successfully tackle the issue.