Health & Wellbeing
Duty of Care Examples: 12 Workplace Scenarios for UK Employers
Every employer has a duty of care to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their people. But what does that look like in practice? This guide walks through 12 common workplace scenarios, showing what a reasonable employer would do in each one, and when to get expert support.
For a full explanation of the law behind these examples, read our guide to duty of care: what employers need to know.
What duty of care means in practice
An employer's duty of care means taking reasonable care to protect employees from foreseeable harm, both physical and psychological. In the UK, that comes from the common law and from statutory duties, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Employers aren't expected to guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong, but they must take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent harm.
Getting it right has clear benefits for your organisation too. When people feel safe and supported, they're more confident to raise concerns, and morale and productivity improve.
12 duty of care examples in the workplace
1. An employee develops repetitive strain injury
The situation: an employee who works at a computer all day develops repetitive strain injury (RSI), with shooting pains in their hands, wrists and forearms.
What duty of care looks like: carry out a workstation assessment, as required for display screen equipment users, and provide suitable equipment, such as an ergonomic keyboard or mouse. Encourage regular breaks, and consider an Occupational Health referral if symptoms continue.
Get support: Occupational Health assessments
2. An employee starts using a wheelchair
The situation: after a car accident, an employee now uses a wheelchair and is ready to return to work.
What duty of care looks like: make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, so they can access the same facilities and opportunities as their colleagues. That might mean ramps, accessible toilets, a different desk layout or changes to their duties. Talk to them about what they need, and check whether the government's Access to Work scheme can help with costs.
Get support: Reasonable adjustments at work
3. A stress risk assessment shows a team is under pressure
The situation: your stress risk assessment shows that one team has high levels of work-related stress, driven by heavy workloads and unclear roles.
What duty of care looks like: act on the findings. Use the HSE Management Standards to address the causes, such as reviewing workloads, clarifying roles and improving support from managers, and agree an action plan with the team. Make sure everyone knows how to access confidential support, such as your EAP.
Get support: How to reduce work-related stress
4. An employee tells you they're struggling with anxiety
The situation: an employee tells their manager they've been struggling with anxiety, and it's affecting their work.
What duty of care looks like: listen without judgement, keep the conversation confidential and ask what would help. Consider temporary adjustments, such as flexible hours or a lighter workload, and signpost professional support. If the condition has a substantial, long-term effect, the Equality Act may also require reasonable adjustments.
Get support: How to spot the early signs of stress in your team
Related article: Duty of care for mental health
5. An employee is returning after long-term sickness absence
The situation: an employee is returning to work after three months off with depression.
What duty of care looks like: hold a supportive return-to-work meeting, follow any advice on their fit note, and agree a phased return and temporary adjustments. Schedule regular check-ins, and consider an Occupational Health assessment if you're unsure what they can manage.
Get support: Mental health sick leave: what UK employers need to know
6. A remote worker is working from their kitchen table
The situation: a hybrid worker spends three days a week working from their kitchen table and has started getting back pain.
What duty of care looks like: your duty of care applies at home too. Ask them to complete a home workstation assessment, provide suitable equipment, such as a chair, monitor or keyboard, and check in regularly about their workload and wellbeing. Watch for signs of isolation as well as physical strain.
Get support: How to support remote employees through an EAP
7. An employee regularly works alone
The situation: a maintenance engineer often works alone, out of hours, at different sites.
What duty of care looks like: carry out a lone working risk assessment, and put controls in place, such as regular check-ins, a way to raise the alarm in an emergency and clear procedures if they don't check in. Make sure they're trained for the risks they might face.
8. An employee tells you she's pregnant
The situation: an employee tells you in writing that she's pregnant.
What duty of care looks like: carry out a specific risk assessment for new and expectant mothers, looking at risks such as heavy lifting, long hours on her feet, stress or exposure to harmful substances. If there's a risk, adjust her working conditions or hours. If that isn't possible, offer suitable alternative work. Provide somewhere for her to rest.
9. You're taking on a young worker or apprentice
The situation: you've hired a 17-year-old apprentice.
What duty of care looks like: carry out a risk assessment before they start, taking account of their inexperience and lack of awareness of risks. Provide proper training and supervision, and follow the rules on young workers' working hours and rest breaks.
10. An employee raises a bullying complaint
The situation: an employee complains that their line manager is bullying them.
What duty of care looks like: take the complaint seriously and act promptly. Follow your grievance procedure, in line with the Acas Code of Practice, investigate fairly and support the employee throughout, including signposting confidential support. If the complaint involves sexual harassment, remember that employers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent it.
Get support: SpeakUp: harassment and whistleblowing support
11. Employees witness a traumatic incident at work
The situation: a team witnesses a serious accident at work.
What duty of care looks like: make sure everyone is safe, and give clear information and reassurance. Offer practical and emotional support, without pressuring anyone to talk through what happened before they're ready. Report the incident to HSE if it's reportable under RIDDOR, and keep an eye on the team's wellbeing in the weeks that follow.
Get support: EAP trauma and critical incident support
12. You employ night workers
The situation: your warehouse runs a night shift.
What duty of care looks like: under the Working Time Regulations 1998, you must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start night work, and at regular intervals after that. If a doctor advises that night work is affecting someone's health, you should transfer them to day work where possible.
Get support: night worker questionnaires are included with Wisdom Super Care.
Support your duty of care with a 24/7 EAP
Breach of duty of care: real UK case examples
You're likely to be in breach of your duty of care if you've failed to take reasonable steps to protect an employee from harm you knew about, or should have foreseen. These well-known cases show how the courts approach claims for work-related stress:
Walker v Northumberland County Council (1995): a senior social worker had a breakdown caused by his workload. When he returned, the support he'd been promised didn't materialise, and he had a second breakdown. The court found his employer liable for the second breakdown, because by then the risk was foreseeable. It was one of the first cases to confirm that the duty of care covers psychiatric harm.
Hatton v Sutherland (2002): the Court of Appeal set out guidance for stress claims. The key question is whether harm to that particular employee was reasonably foreseeable. Employers can usually assume an employee can cope with the normal pressures of the job, unless they know, or ought to know, about a particular problem.
Barber v Somerset County Council (2004): the House of Lords found an employer liable after a teacher's repeated concerns about stress weren't acted on. Once an employer is aware of a risk, it should take the initiative to find out what's wrong and what it can do.
Daw v Intel Corporation (UK) Ltd (2007): an employee raised concerns about her workload, but they weren't addressed. The court found that offering a counselling service wasn't enough on its own, because the employer needed to tackle the causes of the stress.
The lesson from these cases is clear. Act on warning signs, address the causes of stress, and use support services as part of a wider response, not as a substitute for one.
Get expert support for your managers and HR team
Employees have responsibilities too
While employers hold most of the responsibility, employees also have duties. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, they must take reasonable care of their own health and safety, and that of others, and co-operate with their employer, for example by following training and reporting hazards.
Employees are also protected if they leave, or refuse to return to, their place of work because they reasonably believe there's a serious and imminent danger. Employers mustn't dismiss them or treat them unfairly for doing so.
Frequently asked questions
What are examples of duty of care in the workplace?
Examples include providing ergonomic equipment for an employee with repetitive strain injury, making reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee, acting on stress risk assessment findings, supporting an employee returning from sickness absence, assessing risks for pregnant employees and young workers, and responding promptly to bullying complaints.
What is an example of a breach of duty of care?
A common example is failing to act on an employee's concerns about stress. In Barber v Somerset County Council, the House of Lords found an employer liable after a teacher's repeated concerns about his workload weren't acted on, and he later suffered a breakdown.
Does offering an EAP mean an employer has met its duty of care?
Not on its own. An EAP is an important part of supporting employees, but the courts have found that offering counselling isn't enough if an employer knows about a problem and doesn't address its causes. An EAP works best alongside risk assessments, manager training and practical changes, such as reviewing workloads.
Does duty of care apply to remote workers?
Yes. Employers have the same duty of care to remote and hybrid workers as to office-based staff. That includes assessing home workstations, providing suitable equipment, and managing risks such as isolation and overwork.
What is an employer's duty of care to pregnant employees?
Once an employee tells you in writing that she's pregnant, you must carry out a specific risk assessment and remove or reduce any risks. That might mean adjusting her working conditions or hours or, if that isn't possible, offering suitable alternative work.
Can employees refuse to do unsafe work?
Employees are protected if they leave, or refuse to return to, their place of work because they reasonably believe there's a serious and imminent danger. That doesn't give them a general right to refuse any task they think is unsafe, but employers should always take safety concerns seriously and investigate them.
Wisdom Wellbeing
Wisdom Wellbeing provides clinically led Employee Assistance Programmes to organisations across the UK and Ireland. Specialising in mental health and wellbeing, we publish practical guidance for employees, employers and business owners, including articles written by our counsellors to offer expertise from a clinical perspective. We also write for students at college and university who want to improve and maintain their mental wellbeing.
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With an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) from Wisdom Wellbeing, we can offer you practical advice and support when it comes to dealing with workplace stress and anxiety issues.
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