An employer could be held liable if an employee dies by suicide as a result of mental ill-health caused by work conditions, a conference in Galway heard at the weekend.
While no such case has occurred in Ireland, an English appeals court recently ruled an employer could be found liable for the suicide of an employee.
Ursula Connolly of the Law Faculty at NUI Galway, said that in the case of Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd, the employee had survived a near fatal accident at work in 1996 which led to an escalating depressive illness which culminated in his suicide in 2002.
This decision is currently being appealed to the House of Lords.
She told the conference on law and mental health at NUI Galway that it was her view that many of the cases being taken against employers at the moment were too "employer biased" but that this could only change with the increasing knowledge, awareness and focus on the area.
Ms Connolly said that currently, employers' liability arose from the common law principles of negligence and from legislation which placed an obligation on employers to protect the mental and physical well-being of employees. Despite the potential liability for employers for mental injury at work, she said the law in this area was unsatisfactory.
Ms Connolly pointed to a National Economic and Social Forum (NESC) report published last week which found that less that 20 per cent of employers had a policy on mental health. Given the potential for liability, this was something that had to change, she said.
"A recent Irish study found that up to 20 per cent of suicides could be attributable to employment factors. If that is correct and if it is found, an employer can be held liable which is very significant.
"There is more and more research and statistics linking mental injury and the workplace and the increase in litigation places a greater burden on the employer than ever before," she said.
Dr Mary Keys, law lecturer at NUI Galway and a member of the Mental Health Commission, said that despite the critical importance of mental health to society, the mechanisms had still not been put in place by Government to provide the multi-disciplinary approach necessary to support mental health in Ireland.
"We cannot afford to delay on implementing strategies as set out in the Government's 2006 policy document A Vision for Change. Delays and half-measures will have profound effects on all aspects of society," she warned.
Dr Keys said the commission had proposed a Mental Capacity Bill which was passed through the Senate last February in its first reading. "This is really important, not just in mental health cases but in nursing homes, residential centres and hostels where others are acting on behalf of people without proper legal authority," she said.
