Employee resigns from company due to paranoid delusions. Does company have any legal duty of care?

Question

A few months ago a colleague and friend of mine at a large Aerospace company resigned showing signs of paranoid delusion (basically thought her employees were out to get her and were drugging her against her will and lots of other stuff I won't go into). To the best of my knowledge the company did not accept her resignation for a couple of months and repeatedly tried to get her to visit a doctor or the company's occupational heath department to be signed off sick. She failed to do any of this and eventually they accepted her resignation. Shortly after she did visit the doctor and ended up in a mental health ward of a local hosiptal for a month or so (I don't know if she was sectioned or not). Now she appears to be better and no longer thinks the people at work were out to get her. Unfortunately she is now in a very bad financial situation as you can imagine. Is there any legal duty of care the company could have in this case? What other advice could anyone give.

Answer 1

Its a difficult one.  On one hand the company did everything they could to prevent her from resigning and were demonstrating their duty of care by trying to get her to see a Dr.

On the other hand, by trying to convince your friend to see a Dr the company have accepted that she was not in the right frame of mind so not sure whether there would be any come back about them accepting her resignation when her mind wasn't right.

Glad your friend is feeling better and I hope she gets something sorted.

It might be worth your friend talking to her old boss - they sound like a reasonable company considering they refused to accept her resignation and encouraged her to seek medical attention.  Otherwise would recommend getting advise from ACAS in the UK as to the legalities.

Answer 2

My feeling that the company probably is not required to do anything further for her, not least because it would likely be very difficult to show that the company's actions contributed to her breakdown. But that's just a "common sense" view and not worth much, since I'm not a lawyer specialising in employment law.

If you're in Britain, did she belong to a union or professional association that could give her advice on her entitlement to help from whatever quarter?

Not sure what the position would be if you're in the States, but I would hope there must be someone expert she could talk to about benefits she might be entitled to under health care plans.

Answer 3

Her first visit should be to the Mental Health Association to see what services they can offer her.

Depending on how long she worked there, she may be eligible for a severance pay, plus final pay, unused vacation pay, and any sick benefits that were not paid during her convalescence.  If she needs a lawyer and cannot afford one, there may be some assistance available for legal aid.

If she would like to work for them again or get a reference for another job, it may be difficult, but she could speak to her supervisor and have a legal representative speak on her behalf.  If she has difficulty getting any job, she may have to settle for disability benefits.

Answer 4

no, stick her on benefits.  

Answer 5

Nope.  She quit so she is not entitled to any unemployment.  The best thing for her to do right now is update her resume and get back out in the job world.

Answer 6

It sounds as if the company did everything they could do and more to help your friend.  Your friend decided to resign even after the company tried to work with her.   Unfortunately there's only so much a company can do and can't stop someone from resigning even if they believe that it's the wrong decision.

Answer 7

The Company has probably discharged its legal responsibilities to her, that it demonstrated that it was prepared to walk the second mile, it might still be willing to help.

Before the world went cynical, most British Companies had a paternalistic attitude to its employees, often employing a Welfare Officer, if it still has such or a trades union offers such a service it would do no harm in bringing the lady's predicament to their attention.

Answer 8

Under the UK H&S at work act the company does have a legal duty of care but so do employees, (to be responsible for their own H&S and those that may be affected by their acts or omissions.)

The employer tried to assist this employee but she refused to accept their offer of help which left them with no alternative than to accept her second resignation.

Your question I'm afraid clears the employer of any responsibility as you state that after care your colleague no longer thinks that the people were out to get her. Therefore she was obviously ill.

She is not employed by the company and would have to reapply if she wanted another job there but to be honest i doubt if she would have any luck and she is best of looking for a job elsewhere.

Answer 9

In the circumstances it appears that the company did exercise a reasonable duty of care.

Unfortunately she is now likely to be in the hands of the social services financially. She could probably claim under incapacity benefit due to the illness.

If she tries to get back into employment it would be worth speaking to MIND or the disability employment advisor at the local job centre.