Council was not told of stress, says lawyer

July 4, 2002 in Legal, Workforce

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.