Employer s liability

There is a legal requirement upon most employers to have in force employer s liability insurance covering injury to their employees. Public liability insurance, while not compulsory, is strongly recommended, both in terms of third-party liability (arising from the effects of corporate activities) and product liability (arising from the effects of corporate products. 

In general, all points already listed under employer s liability apply equally in public liability (third party) situations. Additionally, the following should be considered. 

The manufacturers of a mass product that is far from the end-user, such as cement or concrete, are under extreme price competition and slightest changes in, say, the cost stracture can be decisive. Elimination of water-soluble chrome-VI compounds that cause chromate-induced eczema would only increase the price of the product minimally. And even if the severe price competition did in fact permit this increased margin (which is highly probable in this example), there has been no significant iimovation push. Uirfortunately, this occupational disease is hardly perceived by the public and the costs incurred by this type of eczema evidently can be externalised by the cement industry (and covered by the employer s liability insurance). 

Income Data Services (2002). Negligence Employer s liability for psychiatric illness. In IDS Brief 704 Employment Law and Practice. London. 

In 1877, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law requiring safeguards for hazardous machinery. In the same year the Employer s Liability Law was passed, establishing the potential for employer liability in workplace accidents. 

The user will find detailed advice and instmctions for setting these zones in the relevant regulations and usually also in applicable publications of the employer s liability insurance associations (in Germany Bemfsgenossenschaften). 

The most important recent piece of health and safety law was passed by Parliament in 1974 called the Health and Safety at Work Act. This Act gave added powers to the Inspectorate and is the basis of all modem statutory health and safety laws. This law not only increased the employer s liability for safety measures, but also put the responsibility for safety on employees too. 

The defendant can represent himself but in health and safety cases it is usual for the defendant to be represented by a solicitor or barrister. If there is a common law claim pending it is likely that the defendant s EE (Employer s Liability) insurers will insist on, and pay for, professional representation. 

If a claim is successful, compensation will only be received if adequate funds are available. This is ensured by employers having Employer s Liability insurance which is a mandatory requirement of ... 

Munkman, j.. Employer s Liability at Common Law, 10th edn, Butterworths, London (1985) Phillips, O. Hood, A First Book of English Law, 8th edn. Sweet Maxwell, London (1989) Selwyn, N., The Law of Employment, 6th edn, Butterworths, London (1988)... 

Following the decision in Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited [1944] 2 All ER 293 it became established that a workman was precluded from pursuing a claim at common law even where he did not know of his right to elect if he had in fact accepted weekly payments under the Workmen s Compensation scheme. The Workmen s Compensation insurance policies issued at that time indemnified the insured against his liability to pay compensation under the Workmen s Compensation Act, the Employer s Liability Act 1880 and the Factories Act 1846 or at common law in the event of personal injury to any employee arising out of and in the course of his employment. 

Since the 1st January 1972 it has been compulsory for employers to insure against their liability to pay damages for bodily injury or disease sustained by their employees arising out of and in the course of their employment. This was enacted by section 1(1) of the Employer s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and failure to comply with the provisions of the Act by an employer renders him guilty of an offence and liable to summary conviction - section 5. 

The criteria by which arising out of and in the course of his employment is established are different in relation to Employer s Liability insurance and the State insurance scheme, the latter incorporating a broader definition. For... 

Any breach of these common law duties resulting in injury to an employee will give rise to liability against which the Employer s Liability policy may indemnify the insured in the event of damages being payable to the injured employee. 

In contrast to the Public Liability Insurance policy it is not usual to impose a Limit of Indemnity to the Employer s Liability policy. It also usually includes cover for all costs and expenses incurred with the insurance companies consent and extends to include the cost of representation of the Insured at proceedings in a Court of Summary Jurisdiction arising out of an alleged breach of statutory duty resulting in bodily injury or disease which may be the subject of indemnity under the policy. 

Dawson and Partners (Contractors) Limited [1976] 3 All ER 817, and it accordingly became advisable for employers to ensure that their Employer s Liability policies were suitably extended by endorsement to cover their liability to this class of workman. 

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