Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of including the reporting of work-related mental health problems as part of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.

The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR 2013), which carefully define the range of health conditions that must be reported. These health conditions are linked with occupational exposure to specified hazards.

Work-related mental ill health, i.e. stress, is subjective; what one person finds stressful may have no detrimental effect on another. In addition, it is not usually possible to fully attribute the causes of stress solely to work-related issues on an individual basis. Factors outside of the workplace, such as financial problems and relationships, can contribute to the overall situation. This would make identifying an objective level of reportable stress very difficult to do.