09/09/2026
Trauma-informed organisations aren’t therapists in disguise, nor should they be.
They have the awareness, skills and commitment to create psychosocially safe working environments where people can perform, contribute and recover from challenges without being exposed to unnecessary harm.
When psychosocial and psychological safety are absent, and workplace practices worsen an employee’s mental health, the consequences can be significant for both people and organisations.
Recent tribunal decisions highlight the cost of getting it wrong:
💷 £87,212 awarded to a recruiter with anxiety and depression after a tribunal found disability discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal while she was off sick.
💷 £27,208 awarded in Davies v Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Trust, where recommended workplace adjustments were not implemented, despite concerns about the impact on the employee’s health and wellbeing.
💷 £150,000+ awarded in Drysdale-Wood v Shared Lives South West, where the tribunal identified serious failings in the management of disability-related absence, adjustments and dismissal.
Common themes?
❌ Ignored warnings
❌ Failure to make reasonable adjustments
❌ Poor communication
❌ Inadequate consideration of health evidence
❌ Processes that exacerbated distress rather than supporting recovery
Psychosocial safety is not simply a wellbeing initiative. It’s about ensuring that workplace systems, policies, leadership behaviours and management practices do not create, contribute to or compound psychological harm.
Employees don’t expect their employers to be therapists. They do however, expect them not to make things worse, as does the law.
