A SWINDON solicitors has urged staff to be upfront about stress.

Recent court rulings in cases brought around workplace stress have shown that the onus is on staff to prove bosses knew they were struggling but did nothing.

Lemon and Co solicitors say that while the advice to staff is to be honest, there is also a need to ask for help if needed and record all communication.

The advice for employers is that being a good boss could avoid many problems.

Stress is a relatively new area of legal knowledge, with guidelines changing all the time.

Tim Dixon is a senior personal injury partner at Lemon and Co solicitors. He says the whole subject is a bit of a minefield.

"In this kind of case there can be no legal solution where one size fits all," says Mr Dixon.

"We're all individuals, and while one person can take a lot of pressure at work, for another those punishing hours and tight deadlines may push them over the edge." Figures by the Health and Safety Executive show that one in five people suffers from dangerously high levels of occupational stress.

Nearly 13 million working days were lost as a result of stress, anxiety or depression last year.

Most at risk seem to be jobs like teaching, the health service and social workers.

"It's a difficult one to tackle, " says Mr Dixon.

"Many employees don't dare admit to their boss that they're having trouble coping with, say, unacceptable hours, or unrealistic targets. The temptation is to soldier on and not risk throwing away that promotion. Of course ignoring stress can lead to serious mental illness, like depression. And that doesn't help the employee or the company."

Recent court rulings have put the onus on the worker to prove his bosses knew he was struggling, and did nothing, and that they could 'foresee' health problems ahead. It's argued that if staff don't tell anyone, how can they expect the company to help?

Lemon and Co's advice to staff who are struggling with stress is to ask for help if you need it, and to make sure all communication is recorded. For the employer, the advice is to be a good boss.

"No-one wants to spend time and money fighting a claim for compensation when so many problems can be avoided with plain, old-fashioned good management, " said Mr Dixon.

"You do have a legal duty of care for your staff and it's in everyone's interest that they're happy and healthy."

Other points recommended by Lemon and Co include being sympathetic, approachable, and taking problems seriously, and checking working practices are fair. For a large company it's possible to pay for counselling to help staff. For smaller businesses that's not practical, so vigilance is the key spotting problems before they get out of control.

More information about stress is available at www.hse.gov.uk

Earlier this week it was reported that stress levels in new recruits have hit an all-time high because there are fewer proper inductions.