Bullying and sickness

One of my members has been dismissed for sickness absence. He has been off work for some nine months with a stress-related illness which was brought on at least in part by bullying he suffered at work. Is there anything that would prevent his being dismissed because the illness is the employer's fault?

The fact that an employer may have contributed to an employee's illness does not make any dismissal necessarily unfair. However, a recent ruling of the EAT states that neither should it be completely disregarded by tribunals, when determining whether or not an employer has unfairly dismissed.

* More information: Frewin v Consignia EAT/0981/02