From Roman stoics to UK case law – lessons on stress management

Workplace stress is often a trigger for employment disputes and claims – and better stress management can help to prevent time-consuming, costly and reputationally damaging conflict.

That's the message from Ogier Counsel Rachel DeSanges who is leading seminars on the most recent case law on stress-related claims at work, as well as lessons from philosophers such as Seneca whose writing in the first century still has relevance for the 21st century workplace.

Rachel said: "Stress can be both a symptom of trouble in the workplace that can give rise to a claim, and a cause of a claim in itself.

"From the point of view of employers, prevention is always better than cure – this session looks at case law about how the courts and tribunals deal with stress disputes, how potential claims arise, and what the statute book has to say.

"Although the current generation is the first to have the protection of employment legislation and independent tribunals, it is not the first to have dealt with stress – so we'll also be looking at what the Stoic philosophers, including Seneca, wrote about the subject, much of which is still relevant today, 2,000 years later."

Rachel is a philosophy graduate with an interest in Stoicism, as well as an employment law specialist working across Ogier's Guernsey and Jersey teams.

She is praised in leading independent legal directories for "excellent industry knowledge" and "getting to the heart of a problem quickly and commercially" – the session will cover the positions in Guernsey and Jersey, and practical steps on claims regarding workplace stress and the islands' employment legislation.

The event takes place in Jersey on 26 September  – email emma.marett@ogier.com to attend and in Guernsey on 27 September.