“I’m overworked, can I make a claim?”
You’re probably aware that another round of strikes is planned by the Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) for 18 and 19 January 2023, affecting many of the hospitals in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The nurses are not just striking over pay (as is often reported), but because they believe their workload is affecting patient safety.
Whether you’re a nurse or not, if you are overworked, it’s likely that you’ll feel underpaid and undervalued. Apart from taking strike action, what can you do?
If your employer has breached your employment contract by not giving your workload proper consideration, you may be able to make a claim for unfair or construction dismissal.
Here are some examples of people who were overworked and who made a successful claim.
Covering a full-time workload in part-time hours
Tracy Smith (not her real name) was a data protection clerk in United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust for almost 30 years.
She worked 29.5 hours per week, and used to get support from a colleague for 10 hours a week until the pandemic. However, her colleague was clinically vulnerable and sent home in March 2020. This meant Tracy had to do all the duties herself. Not only that, but tracking down the data needed to respond to subject access requests took longer because so many staff were working from home.
She raised concerns with her line manager about the excessive workload in November 2020. She took some annual leave on the understanding that her work would be covered in her absence, but on return she found this hadn’t happened so she had even more to do.
She struggled on with no additional help, but by January 2021, was missing turn-around targets in a rising number of cases and took two days off work with a ‘stress related condition’.
In May 2021, Tracy was told she wouldn’t receive any additional resource.
In response, she resigned and brought a claim of constructive unfair dismissal because her employer had subjected her to an excessive and uncontrolled workload.
Nottingham employment tribunal upheld her claim because her employer had broken the implied term of mutual trust and confidence.
NHS whistleblower wins nearly £500,000
Linda Fairhall was an NHS nurse for 44 years. 13 times she told bosses at the University Hospital of North Tees and Hartlepool that her colleagues were overburdened, but her complaints were ignored each time.
A policy was imposed that obliged nurses to monitor patients who took prescribed medicine, and meant they had to conduct 1,000 extra patient visits a month without extra resources.
Just before she went on annual leave, Linda warned officials that nurses were overwhelmed by this additional responsibility, and it had led to rising anxiety and higher rates of absence. However, nothing was done in response to her concerns, and a patient died.
When she returned, she was suspended, investigated for “bullying and harassment”, then sacked for gross misconduct.
The tribunal in Teesside found the decision to dismiss her was “materially influenced” by her complaints regarding patient safety, and she was awarded nearly £500,000.
Overwork causing breakdown
Elizabeth Aylott taught at private law university, BPP. She repeatedly raised issues about her workload and her problems coping with it.
Throughout 2018, she felt overloaded and could no longer cope. She was drinking heavily, had severe depressive illness with anxiety and panic attacks, and even thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
However, it was a culture where managers working in excess of contractual hours was ‘normal’. Her boss, Mr Shaw, suggested “her feelings of stress were based on her perception.” And a colleague described her as a good worker but “as mad as a box of frogs”.
Despite her mental health issues, the university failed to reduce her workload and she wasn’t offered Occupational Health support soon enough.
After leaving her job in spring 2019, Elizabeth suffered from further anxiety and depression and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
The Central London employment tribunal awarded her £168,000 for constructive unfair dismissal. This included £71,200 for future financial losses, £32,000 for past financial losses and £20,000 for injury to feelings.
What this means to you
If you’re overworked and want to make a claim, the first step is an initial conversation. We’re employment law specialists who can advise you what to do and your chances of winning.
Related reading: Overworked. Can I claim?
If you need more information on this subject, you might like to read our other articles:
- Can I claim for constructive dismissal if I resign?
- I’m overworked and it’s affecting my mental health
- I’m working too many hours
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