Work-related stress remains one of the most significant health and safety challenges facing UK employers, employees, and regulators. The latest HSE 2023/24 stats reveal the scale of the issue and the growing importance of effectively managing stress, depression, and anxiety as workplace hazards. In this article, we’ll explore how many people reported work-related stress in 2023/24, why stress must be treated as a serious health and safety hazard, the role of HSE stress risk assessments and the HSE Management Standards, and how the Equality Act’s definition of disability intersects with stress-related conditions.
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Workplace Stress: A Critical Health and Safety Hazard
We often hear stress dismissed as a personal or resilience problem, but that framing dangerously misses the point. Stress, depression, and anxiety caused or worsened by work conditions are recognised within UK law as serious health and safety hazards. Unlike a purely individual issue, work-related stress is a systemic risk stemming from job demands, control, support, relationships, role clarity, and organisational change.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has for years acknowledged that stress is a leading cause of ill-health at work, with substantial implications for absence rates, productivity, and long-term wellbeing. Its latest figures for 2023/24 underline that this problem remains significant.
How Many People Reported Work-Related Stress in 2023/24?
According to the HSE’s 2023/24 statistics on work-related illnesses, approximately 776,000 workers in Great Britain reported experiencing stress, depression, or anxiety as work-related conditions during the 2023/24 period. This figure represents both new and ongoing cases confirmed by self-reporting in national surveys such as the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Labour Force Survey’s Work-related Illness module.
To put these numbers into context:
Condition Estimated Number of Cases in 2023/24 Percentage of Work-Related Illnesses Stress, depression, and anxiety 776,000 53% Other work-related illness (e.g., musculoskeletal disorders) 689,000 47% Total work-related illness cases 1,465,000 100%Stress, depression, and anxiety remain by far the most commonly reported causes of work-related ill health, making up over half of new and ongoing cases. The persistent scale highlights why employers must treat stress prevention and mitigation as integral parts of health and safety management.
HSE Stress Risk Assessments and Employer Duties
Employers’ legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require them to control risks to employees’ health and safety, including work-related stress. The HSE recommends that employers carry out:
- Stress risk assessments to identify specific stressors in the workplace; Implement control measures to reduce or eliminate those risks; Review and monitor the effectiveness of those controls; Consult with employees and their representatives throughout the process.
However, not every employer understands or seriously applies these risk assessment duties when it comes to stress. Some still assume that stress is outside workplace control or that employees must ‘manage their own resilience’. This is both legally incorrect and practically ineffective. The risk assessment must focus on the working conditions causing stress, not just symptoms or personal coping strategies.
Using the HSE Management Standards as a Benchmark
The HSE Management Standards provide a practical benchmark for employers to assess and develop their approach to work-related stress. They cover six key areas of work design and organisational culture that influence stress risk:
Employers can use standard tools and surveys, including the HSE’s own stress indicator tool, to assess risk levels across these pillars and focus on brightonjournal.co.uk realistic, actionable improvements. These standards also align closely with the duty to show reasonable care and keep a safe workplace.
Equality Act and Disability Definition Relating to Stress, Depression, and Anxiety
Another important legal dimension is the Equality Act 2010, which protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace. Stress itself is not a disability under the Act, but stress-related conditions such as clinical depression or anxiety disorders may qualify if they have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.
Under the Equality Act, employers have additional duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, such as adjusting workloads, providing additional breaks, or offering flexible working. This means that if a worker’s stress has developed into a qualifying disability, the employer must take extra care not to treat that worker unfavourably or ignore accommodations that would help manage their condition.
Summary Checklist for Employers
If you’re the manager responsible for health and safety in a small or micro business (where there is no dedicated HR department), here’s a tailored checklist to keep on hand for addressing stress risk:
Review your 2023/24 incident records and survey feedback for signs of stress, depression, and anxiety. Conduct a dedicated stress risk assessment using the HSE Management Standards as a guide. Identify specific workplace stressors and implement targeted control measures. Train managers to recognise signs of stress and how to support affected employees reasonably. Consult employees regularly about workload and wellbeing—involve them in problem-solving. Ensure absence policies fairly take into account both mental health and Equality Act disability needs. Keep thorough records of risk assessments, steps taken, and communications for compliance.Why “Talking to HR” Is Not Always the Solution
You’ll notice I haven’t advised simply “speaking to HR.” For thousands of small employers—especially micro-agencies, cafés, studios, and venues across Brighton, Hove, and beyond—there is no HR department. Everything lands on one manager’s desk. That means it’s critical managers are equipped with clear, actionable knowledge about stress management, without hand-wavy wellbeing buzzwords or shifting blame to “personal resilience.”
Stress is a workplace risk that must be identified, assessed, and managed just like any other hazard — be it slips, trips, or manual handling. As the HSE’s 2023/24 stats confirm, the stakes remain high.
Further Resources
- HSE Work-Related Stress Guidance HSE Management Standards for Work-Related Stress HSE Work-Related Illnesses 2023/24 Report Equality Act 2010 – Full Text
For managers looking for a quick reference, keep this post bookmarked or download a printable checklist to help you navigate work-related stress in your team effectively.
Your role in recognising, assessing, and reducing workplace stress isn’t just good practice — it’s a legal responsibility with real consequences for the wellbeing of your staff and your organisation.
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