NUJ secures RSI payout for journalist

An editor whose repetitive strain injury (RSI) left her unable ever to do her job again has won more than £37,000 in damages from Guardian Newspapers.

Andrea Osbourne was a casual worker on the Guardian Unlimited website for over two years, working up to 45 hours a week. Although she used a computer mouse extensively and at speed for an average of nine hours a night without a break, the company did not carry out a risk assessment when she started work there.

After she developed elbow pain, she was refused access to the company physiotherapist because she was not a permanent member of staff, and she later left the paper when only unsuitable and lower-paid work was offered to her.

Osbourne was backed in her damages claim, which was settled out of court, by journalists’ union the NUJ. Following her payout, she said: “The Guardian showed absolutely no sympathy. The paper has all but ended my career.”

Marion Voss, a solicitor at NUJ lawyers Thompsons, added that the company had “failed in its duty of care”.