A former social worker who claimed a mental collapse was caused by her workload increasing dramatically, failed to inform her employer she was suffering stress, a court heard.
Maureen Pratley is suing for damages after claiming she worked 100 hours per week following promotion by Surrey Council.
John Norman, representing the council, said Pratley, of Honiton, Devon, concealed her state of mind and the size of her workload from the authority. "Here we have an employer who encouraged discussion, and Ms Pratley did not make any use of this," he told the court.
"The person who has the biggest and greatest responsibility for their health is the employee," he added.
Mr Justice Buckley is expected to give his decision later this month.
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