Work-related stress moves up the regulatory agenda: what Guernsey employers need to know

In March 2023, data and economic modelling from AXA UK and the Centre for Business and Economic Research revealed that burnout and work-related stress cost the UK economy an estimated £28bn and resulted in 23.3m sick days a year. 

In Guernsey, the trends have been the same albeit on a smaller scale. Mental health and workplace wellbeing have continued to climb up the corporate agenda. Work-related stress is increasingly being treated as a governance, risk and regulatory issue rather than simply a wellbeing or HR concern. 

Reflecting this shift, Guernsey's Health and Safety Executive ("HSE") has initiated a targeted 2026 initiative examining how employers identify, assess and manage work-related stress. Employers should expect scrutiny of their policies, and of the practical measures they have implemented to demonstrate those measures are working and to be asked to provide evidence that those measures are working. 

For boards and senior leadership teams, the initiative presents an opportunity to consider whether the company can confidently demonstrate that they have a robust framework for managing work-related stress.

Why is work-related stress becoming a regulatory priority?

Historically, workplace stress has tended to be dealt with as and when it arises and as affects an individual employee. The issue has generally been managed through referrals to employee assistance programmes, wellbeing initiatives or occupational health referrals. Because of the increasing number of employees being signed off with 'work related stress', that approach is changing. Regulators are now focusing on the organisational factors that contribute to stress-related ill health, recognising that the increased cases frequently arise from systemic issues such as excessive workloads, inadequate resources, poor management practices, ineffective communication or poorly managed organisational change. This is the context for HSE's initiative in Guernsey.

Under the Health and Safety at Work (General) (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1987, employers are required, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and to identify and manage foreseeable risks to health. The HSE has expressly confirmed that work-related stress falls within this obligation. Importantly, the HSE has also confirmed that it will use the UK HSE's Management Standards for Work-Related Stress as the benchmark against which organisational arrangements will be assessed. This means employers should be moving beyond a reactive approach for individual cases, towards a more proactive, holistic and evidence-based risk management framework.

More than a compliance exercise

One could view the HSE initiative as yet another regulatory burden. However, this would likely prove to be a costly mistake on several fronts. Stress-related risks can have significant consequences far beyond the risk of regulatory action. Amongst other things, poorly managed workplace stress can result in:

• Increased sickness absence;
• Reduced productivity;
• Downturn in morale;
• Higher employee turnover;
• Recruitment challenges;
• Grievances and complaints;
• Bullying and harassment allegations;
• Constructive dismissal claims;
• Personal injury claims;
• Discrimination risks; and
• Reputational damage

Given that attracting and retaining talent remains a key challenge for employers in Guernsey, an employer's approach to workplace stress is an important component of its employer brand and particularly its organisational resilience and culture, just as Covid saw a shift in workplace attitudes, with employees placing increasing value on flexible working and a 'work life balance'. 

The organisations most likely to benefit from the HSE initiative are those which engage fully and view it as an opportunity to understand better how working life is experienced within their business and where operational improvements can be made. Those who dismiss it or see it as just another regulatory 'tick-box' will do so at their own risk. 

What the HSE expects from employers

The HSE has provided invaluable insight into the information it expects organisations to produce as part of the initiative. The request extends across four primary areas. 

1. Governance and consultation

Inspectors may seek work-related stress policies, updated risk assessments, organisation charts, details of reporting structures, information regarding senior accountability, and employee consultation arrangements. 

2. Risk assessment and action planning

Increasingly, regulators want to understand not merely whether an organisation has policies, but who is accountable for ensuring they are implemented, engaged with and reviewed and so employers may be expected to demonstrate active management of identified risks and action plans rather than simply maintaining generic documentation.

3. Training and competence

Line managers are often the first people to observe changes in employee wellbeing, but many receive little formal training on recognising and responding to stress-related concerns. Therefore, HSE inspectors may request to see management training materials, training completion records, competency frameworks and information about support available to managers. 

4. Monitoring and effectiveness

Perhaps most significantly, is a growing expectation that organisations should be measuring and monitoring outcomes and using data to inform decision making. Employers may be asked to provide results of employee survey results, absence data, turnover information, retention metrics, exit interview themes, and workforce intelligence. 

The importance of a nominated organisational lead

Although the HSE has not formally mandated the appointment of a dedicated stress lead, one of the clearest lessons emerging from the initiative is the importance of accountability.

In many organisations work-related stress sits across multiple functions from the HR function (managing employee wellbeing), health and safety (overseeing risk assessments), legal (assessing liability and regulatory risk), compliance (monitoring governance) and managers (overseeing workloads and performance). This can result in fragmented responsibility where nobody has ownership. 

A nominated organisational lead for work-related stress provides oversight, coordination and accountability across the organisation. Key responsibilities would include coordinating stress risk assessments, monitoring workforce data, tracking action plans, organising training, reporting to senior management, ensuring compliance, managing regulatory engagement and driving organisational improvements. Importantly, the nominated lead should be sufficiently senior to influence decision-making and ensure recommendations are implemented. 

For many employers, establishing clear accountability may ultimately prove to be one of the simplest and most effective measures they can take.

Understanding the six management standards

The framework adopted by the HSE focuses on six recognised factors which give rise to workplace stress: 

• Demands – workload, working hours and resources.
• Control – the degree of autonomy employees have over their work.
• Support – training, resources and assistance available to employees.
• Relationships – workplace culture, conflict management and bullying prevention.
• Role – clarity regarding responsibilities and expectations especially during organisational growth or restructuring. 
• Change – timely and accurate communication and consultation during organisational change to prevent rumours and unease amongst the workforce. The HSE's sample risk assessment specifically identifies organisational change as a significant stress factor requiring ongoing monitoring and employee feedback. 

Key lessons for employers 

One of the most useful aspects of the initiative is the HSE's publication of several sample stress risk assessments. These highlight several important principles:

• Assess risks based on the organisation's actual circumstances; 
• Consult employees during the assessment process;
• Record specific controls and actions;
• Allocate responsibility to named individuals; and
• Review and update assessments regularly.

Perhaps most importantly, the HSE explicitly warns against adopting generic templates without considering the specific risks within the organisation. A stress risk assessment should not be treated as a paperwork exercise. It should be a genuine diagnostic tool.

It is worth noting that employers are not automatically liable simply because an employee experiences stress. Liability only arises where psychiatric injury is reasonably foreseeable and the employer has failed to take reasonable steps to prevent that harm.

Liability for workplace-stress injuries has been established by multiple court decisions in the past decades, including the English Court of Appeal decision in Hatton v Sutherland & Others, where the Court of Appeal identified several factors that may make injury foreseeable, including:

• Repeated complaints about workload;
• Previous stress-related absences;
• Obvious indications of distress;
• Long working hours;
• Deteriorating performance linked to wellbeing concerns; and
• Management awareness of existing risks.

Although this is an old case, the principles established in Hatton are remarkably consistent with the HSE's current approach and the regulator is effectively asking organisations the same question.

What foreseeable risks have you identified, and what have you done about them?

Where employers can demonstrate robust governance, meaningful risk assessments, active monitoring and responsive management interventions, they are likely to be in a far stronger position from both a regulatory and employment law perspective.

Questions every board should be asking

As workplace stress becomes an increasingly important governance topic, boards should consider asking:

• Who has overall responsibility for work-related stress?
• When was our last stress risk assessment completed?
• What workforce data is reviewed regularly?
• What themes are appearing in absence statistics?
• What themes are emerging from exit interviews?
• Are managers equipped to identify risks?
• How are concerns escalated?
• What evidence would we provide to the HSE today?

If these questions cannot be answered confidently, there is likely work to be done.

How Carey Olsen can help

Work-related stress sits at the intersection of employment law, health and safety, governance and risk management. Carey Olsen's Employment Team advises organisations across Guernsey on all aspects of workplace wellbeing, employee relations and regulatory compliance. Our approach focuses on helping employers develop practical frameworks that are both legally robust and operationally effective. 

Looking ahead

The HSE's 2026 initiative reflects a broader shift towards treating psychological health risks in the same way as other workplace risks. Employers who act now by strengthening governance, updating risk assessments, training managers and improving workforce engagement will be best placed to satisfy regulatory expectations, reduce legal risk and create healthier, more productive workplaces.