Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
As is well known, an employer’s liability in negligence for psychiatric harm is limited by the guidelines set out by the Court of Appeal in Hatton v Sutherland (Hatton) and approved by the House of Lords in Barber v Somerset (Barber). It is though worth highlighting that Hatton is now 25 years old and may be showing its age; it would not seem to align particularly well with contemporary concern over mental health in particular and wellbeing in general. A disparity between the legal framework and societal expectations can prompt and justify common law reform as the following passage from Lord Sales writing extra-judicially suggests: ‘there is thus a threshold or tipping point where a head of pressure builds up for judicial change or adaptation of the common law to keep pace with current social values, beyond which change in the law becomes legitimate as an acceptable safety valve. Only when sufficient pressure builds up from background morality and social values can a judge properly feel confident that it is right to make an incremental adjustment in the existing law’ …

€ (Westlaw)

Douglas Brodie, ‘Stress at work: contemporary expectations and common law hurdles’ [2026] Journal of Personal Injury Law (3) 130-142.