Ecclesiastical defeats teacher's £550,000 stress claim

Ecclesiastical Insurance has helped a small independent school successfully defeat a £550,000 stress claim by one of its teachers.

Fairstead House School Trust of Newmarket, Suffolk, was sued for damages by its former reception teacher, Suzanne Vahidi, who suffered clinical depression as a result of her difficulty in coping with new work practices introduced under Ofsted in 1997. Vahidi claimed that after her return to work in 1998 she suffered a relapse due to lack of support by the school.

However, the trial judge and the Court of Appeal both found that, although a relapse was foreseeable, the school had offered its member of staff as much support as they reasonably could without intruding on her rights.

Andrew Brown, Ecclesiastical's chief claims manager, said: "Mrs Vahidi's claim against the school failed because the governors and headteacher were concerned about her health and provided a good level of support.

"Despite the school's limited resources, those in charge acted fairly and reasonably throughout and against this background we were able to build a strong defence. The courts clearly agreed with our view and this should give comfort to any school or small business faced with increasingly prevalent stress-related illness."