Email Ltd v Stedman

Email Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the appellant's liability for injuries sustained by the respondent, Mr Stedman, who was employed by the appellant as a sales representative. Mr Stedman alleged that he had suffered a psychiatric injury as a result of his employer's conduct, which he claimed amounted to harassment and bullying.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the appellant owed a duty of care to the respondent to prevent psychiatric injury, and if so, whether that duty had been breached. The court was also required to consider whether the appellant's conduct had caused the respondent's psychiatric injury.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal, affirmed that an employer owes a duty of care to its employees to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable psychiatric injury. The court found that the appellant's knowledge of the respondent's vulnerability and the ongoing nature of the harassment created a foreseeable risk of psychiatric harm. The court applied the principles established in cases such as *Koehler v Cerebos (Australia) Ltd* and *Wyong Shire Council v Shirt*, holding that the appellant had failed to take reasonable precautions to mitigate the risk, thereby breaching its duty of care. The court was satisfied that the evidence established a causal link between the employer's conduct and the respondent's psychiatric injury.