WINDSOR COMMUNITY PRIMARY
SCHOOL
STRESS AT WORK
POLICY
MARCH 2011
The Objective
For the Governors and Headteacher of our school to provide as far as is
reasonably practicable a place of work which is safe and without risks to
health, including taking control measures in the case of any work activity
that may involve a risk of Organisational Stress i.e. work related stress.
General Statement
There is no single piece of legislation that requires employers to specifically
identify or control work-related stress risks. However, since the successful
civil case of Walker v Northumberland County Council, employer awareness
has been raised. Mr. Justice Coleman in his summary referred, among other
points, to the employer’s duty of care to provide safe systems of work. He
heightened the point that the duty of care has developed almost exclusively
in relation to physical injury. However, there is no reason why it should not
extend to psychiatric harm.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 the general duty of care
is fully expressed in s.2(1). Under the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) regulation 3 on risk assessment
states that every employer should make a suitable and sufficient
assessment of the risks to health and safety of employees, so that
appropriate preventative and protective measures can be taken. Regulation
5 states the employer should provide appropriate health surveillance cover.
It can be argued that health surveillance for an employee with an accepted
work-related illness would, on return to work, require support and risk
assessment of work demands. The Walker case hinged on the fact that the
employer knew of the previous mental breakdown, accepted it was due to
work demands and did not provide either permanent or temporary support.
The occupational health principles to be applied are set out in the Approved
Code of Practice to the MHSWR and include adapting work to the individual,
especially as to the design of workplaces, the choice of equipment and the
choice of working methods. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1992 set general standards for the workplace. Compliance with
the standards will help reduce risks created by the general working
conditions and improve the workplace environment. Under the Health and
Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 annex B of the
guidance refers to fatigue and stress as health hazards. The Reporting of
Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
(RIDDOR95), has defined an accident to include acts of non-consensual
violence done to people at work and acts of suicide on Railways or other
relevant transport systems.
In line with Liverpool City Council, Windsor Community Primary School
acknowledges that all people encounter stress in their personal lives and are
committed to managing work-related stressors as any other health and
safety risk. Through the risk assessment process, Liverpool City Council and
the school will continue to identify hazards and assess all mental and
physical risks to health and safety with the objective of reducing them, as
far as is reasonably practicable.
Arrangements for ensuring the health and safety of workers
The Buildings, Health and Safety Committee will complete risk assessments to
 Identify possible work-related stressors
 Reduce identified stressors, including environmental, work
organization and people stressors, as far as is reasonably practicable
 Provide training in stress awareness, communication, time
management, handling difficult situations and employee relations as an
effective approach to manage people effectively.
 Treat employees with stress in the same way as those with any other
occupationally induced health problem
 Provide appropriate support for distressed employees
 Ensure adequate rehabilitation of employees returning to work
 Monitor potential stressors within school and inform Liverpool City
Council as necessary
Safe System Of Work
The identification and control of possible organizational stress is multifaced. It can relate to the way the Governors and the Senior Managers
value and manage people, particularly during times of change. In essence
there should be a climate in which people have the confidence to seek
assistance and discuss their work related problems.
The following will be adopted:
 Develop and promote the requirement to inform, and ensure there is
participation in decision-making, and recognition and support from
difficulties encountered in the workplace. Therefore the culture, the
management style and the expectations the employer has of the
employees are worthy of consideration when addressing possible
work-related stressors. In practice there are numerous policies,
procedures and opportunities that can be identified and promoted as
being relevant to the control or reduction of work-related stress. For
example, human resource policies and procedures, to identify and
manage role ambiguity and boundary conflicts. Recognising the
isolation by position or the nature of the work are as relevant to
stress levels as work load. Time pressures and jobs in which there is
responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of others.
 Revisit or develop policies regarding discrimination, aggression,
bullying and harassment that can cause high levels of work related
stress. This must be supported by creating a climate that provides
employees with the confidence to report such issues, and once
reported to ensure there is a system for fast and adequate
management of the situation.
 Identify and implement training programmes to ensure staff are
competent in all aspects of their job, particularly management and
communication skills. The more traditional approach to health and
safety is also an element in controlling stress. Therefore ensure the
completion of risk assessments and preparation of appropriate safe
systems of work to control risk factors intrinsic to the job such as
the physical working conditions; workstation design; computer-based
tasks; exposure to chemical and/or biological hazards.
 Ensure effective consultation regarding the identified risk and
hidden factors such as the need for working irregular hours and the
requirement to take work home on a regular basis to meet routine
work loads.
 Maintain a clear and universal approach to managing attendance at
work and to rehabilitating employees back into full and gainful
employment.
Summary Statement
Work-related stress requires a broad based approach to ensure that people
are valued. The Governors of Windsor Community Primary School recognize
that stress is real and not a weakness of the individual. To develop this it is
necessary to explore what is meant by work-related stress. There is no
single, agreed definition of stress. It can be considered as the response
the body makes to all non-specific demands. No matter what the situation,
when the perceived demand exceeds the personal coping ability and
resources, the body and mind are aroused. In essence, all systems are
geared up either to fight the challenge or to flee from the situation to
avoid harm. This is sometimes referred to as the fight or flight response.
The physiological response can be life saving or, in a less dramatic way,
provide the extra alertness and sharpness to improve performance – a
positive response. A positive stress response is key to meeting short term
challenges such as making an important presentation or meeting a specific
deadline. Negative stress is the result of attempting to cope with sustained
or continual challenges such as trying to meet unrealistic time pressures or
working in a hostile environment – physical or mental. The employee cannot
run away or fight so must suppress the body’s normal or protective
responses. The person then becomes distressed, eventually is exhausted,
under-performs and can suffer minor and major illnesses. In some
situations the standard response of the employer is to deal with the results
of stress, under-performance, aggression or absence and ignore or fail to
consider the cause.
Windsor Community Primary School will endeavor to identify all workrelated stressors and reduce these as far as is reasonably practicable,
whilst creating a working environment in which all employees have the
confidence to seek help for, and discuss, any work-related problems they
may have.
Policy reviewed: February 2008
Policy reviewed: February 2009
Policy reviewed March 2010
Policy reviewed March 2011