5 October 2009:  The Department of Health has ordered Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust to pay a health worker £370, 550 plus an additional £24,000 per year for every year of his life following a claim he made that working for the NHS caused him stress. The former employee retired more than 13 years ago.

There is an ongoing dispute about who is responsible for paying the compensation as the original Trust was disbanded in 2002.

Clive Lewis of Globis said “This is another example that shows the importance of building better relationships in the workplace. It is important for organisations to get the balance between task and people management right. Employees are much more likely to resort to litigation now than they would have been, perhaps as recently as 5 years ago.

The business case for these principles has been proven. Organisations that are putting preventative HR solutions in place are already experiencing benefits. One benefit is where management does not have to devote any time to dealing with litigation issues”.

For more on the compensation claim, please click here: