KEY POINTS:
A high-profile case involving claims of workplace stress at Whakatane Hospital has been withdrawn.
During a teleconference this week, the Department of Labour withdrew a charge brought against the Bay of Plenty District Health Board.
The landmark prosecution was based on claims that a nursing manager, who collapsed while working at the hospital last March, had suffered undue stress.
It was the second stress case to be taken in New Zealand and would have been the first to go to a hearing.
Department spokeswoman Frances Martin said that under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, employers were required to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety and health of employees.
"But they are only required to take steps in respect of circumstances they knew or ought to have known about."
She said the department could not be satisfied that the DHB knew about the employee's circumstances.
- NZPA
