A senior social worker, John Walker, employed by Northumberland County Council, has won his High Court battle for compensation for stress leading to a nervous breakdown caused by an impossible workload. It is the first time anyone has successfully sued their employer in such a case. Following the High Court ruling, he has accepted 175,000 pounds damages to compensate him for his loss of earnings from December 1987 until he would have retired at age 65. Mr Walker entered social work in 1965, and was eventually promoted to Area Manager. Over the next 13 years the population of his area increased from 65,000 to 80,000 leading to an increased caseload. He repeatedly sought extra staff and administrative backup - his requests were refused.

He suffered a nervous breakdown in November 1986, returned to work in March 1987 but the authority did nothing effectively about his workload. He subsequently suffered a second nervous breakdown. He was retired on medical grounds in May 1988. His union solicitors effectively argued in the Court that the nervous breakdown was caused by Northumberland Council being negligent and specifically by exposing him to unreasonable stress which could have been avoided.

This is a significant victory, for workers suffering ill-health through stress and particularly for John Walker.

His victory was due, in part, to the fact that he was able to show in Court that he had sought through many letters and meetings to bring to the attention of senior management the difficulties of providing a quality of service to the community given existing staffing levels and administrative procedures. He explained the full effect it was having on the work, on all the social work team as well as on himself. In other words his letters meant that his employer knew of the problems.

His employers knew that when he returned to work after the first breakdown, his medical advisers had said he could not sust- ain the same pressure without becoming ill again. As they had been warned the risk of his health was predictable if his work circumstances were not changed.