ACC ordered to pay for staff's mental injuries

The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in New Zealand has been ordered by the court to cover the cost of an employee's mental injuries, which news outlets reported as a first for the organisation. The ACC is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible of delivering the country's "no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme."

It will be the first time that the entity is forced to pay for one of its own staff members for the mental injuries she sustained while working for the ACC, Radio New Zealand reported.

According to RNZ's report, the employee developed major depression and post-traumatic stress, which two doctors attributed to her experiences at work.

These were instances when the employee felt humiliated by her boss and colleagues on separate occasions, after she faced redundancy due to a restructuring within the Crown entity.

The first instance was with her manager, who she claimed was "confrontational and aggressive" in a deployment meeting in October 2019, which left her "ambushed and blindsided." The second instance was with her colleagues, reported RNZ, who humiliated her and accused her of lying when she went to retrieve her laptop in March 2020 while on stress leave.

The employee recalled the experience with RNZ, describing it as "extremely painful."

She claimed for a work-related mental injury after her diagnoses of depression and post-traumatic stress - but this was refused.

The worker then filed an appeal to the Wellington District Court, who sided with her stating that she suffered a work-related injury.

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In his ruling, cited by RNZ, Judge Chris McGuire said he accepts the accounts brought forward by the employee, which he described as "detailed and meticulous."

"The respondent has offered no counter evidence," McGuire said as quoted by RNZ.

Thanks to the ruling, the employee will be receiving weekly payouts from ACC, but the amount has yet to be confirmed and is on the final stages.

Michael Frampton, ACC's chief people and culture officer, told RNZ in a statement that they only received one mental injury claim for bullying at work as an organisation.

While he could not speak about the individual employee matters, Frampton told RNZ that they value their employees' safety while at work.

"ACC does not tolerate bullying or harassment in any form. We encourage our people to raise any concerns, and we provide multiple avenues to do so," he told RNZ.