Getting to know Employer's Liability: A guide to the most common EL claims

Firstly, what is the Employer's Liability?

Employer's liability is where your employer is responsible for the accident or injury you suffered while at work. It is where they were negligent in their legal duty of care towards you resulting in you suffering an accident or injury.  

Employer's liability insurance is a policy your employer takes out to cover them for any accident,  injury or illness you sustain at work which is their fault. Therefore, when you go to make a compensation claim for an injury or accident that occurs at work, your employer will pay your compensation through their employer's liability insurance. Employer's liability insurance protects both you and your employer when you suffer an accident or injury in the workplace. 

When does the Employer's Liability apply?

Employer's liability insurance is when your employer is to blame for your accident or injury in the workplace. Employer's liability can cover a range of issues such as:

• where an employee dies
• for injuries an employee suffers 
• where employees contract an illness or disease

Employer liability does not apply to other situations where you suffer at work such as:

• discrimination
• sexual harassment
• wrongful termination

Employer liability applies to any work you carry out at any of your employer's UK locations. This can include, for example, their main business building and their offshore installations. It can also apply where your employer is no longer in business. 

What are the most common Employer's Liability claims?

There are some common employer's liability claims that employer's liability covers. Some are types of claims and some can be for types or accidents or illnesses. These can include:

• illness through contact with toxins
• suffering a burn on a hot drink 
• slipping on a wet floor after a spillage

We list a few more below. 

Industrial Diseases

Employer's liability claims can cover employers when their employee contracts an industrial disease. For example, they can cover an employee contracting legionnaires disease. They may contract this because the infection was in the air conditioning system which had not been adequately maintained by the employer. 

There are other common types of industrial diseases resulting in employer liability. For example:

• asthma
• noise-induced hearing loss
• asbestosis

Post-Traumatic Stress

It is possible to make a compensation claim from your employer for post-traumatic stress. This is something that your employer's liability will cover for an employer's liability claim. For example, you may work in an industry which requires you to carry out incredibly stressful work. If your employer does not take adequate precautions to alleviate your stress, you may have a compensation claim against them.

Third-party Over Action

If you get injured while working for your employer where they are contracted to carry out work for another business, you may be able to claim compensation through the employer's liability from the other business. This can occur where:

• you have already claimed for compensation from your employer; and
• your employer does not have a contract of identity with the business they are contracted to.

Dual Capacity

It may be possible to claim twice from your employer for an accident in the workplace where they have dual capacity. This is where your personal injury solicitor can establish more than one relationship between the two of you. For example, as well as claiming employer liability as they are your employer, if they also manufacture the equipment that affected your accident, you may be able to sue them for this too. 

Consequential Bodily Injury

One of your family members could suffer an injury as a result of your accident or injury in the workplace. For example, they could suffer a heart attack or a stroke due to the shock and upset of your injury. Where this occurs they can make a compensation claim through employers liability to your employer.. 

Loss of consortium

If your partner or member of your family suffers an accident in the workplace, it can affect you too. This may mean you can make an employer liability claim for loss of consortium. These types of  employer's liability claims usually involve a claim for loss of service and can include more than simply companionship. 

Electric Shocks

A common type of employer's liability claim is for electrical accidents. Injuries can occur when the employer does not maintain electrical equipment correctly. Even straightforward tasks involving electricity can result in serious injuries.

Manual handling injuries

Manual handling injuries are a common reason for employer's liability claims. Injuries and long-term health problems result from employees regularly moving and lifting heavy goods. Your employer must take adequate precautions towards you such as:

• carrying out risk assessments
• ensuring you minimal manual handling tasks
• giving you the right equipment
• ensuring you have adequate training

Slips, trips and falls

Slips, trips and falls can occur amongst many industries and are a common reason for employer liability claims. An employer is likely liable for slips trips and falls where they occur due to a wet floor or clutter left about. 

Falls from height

Falls from a height can result in very serious injuries in the workplace. This is a common reason for employer's liability claims. If your employer has not mitigated risk by providing training and protective equipment or putting in place fall arrest systems, they may be at fault. 

Accidents due to lack of training, supervision or equipment

A common type of employer's liability claim likely to result from either a:

• a lack of training
• failure to supervise workers
• inadequate equipment

If any of the above is the reason for your accident in the workplace, you could make a compensation claim. 

Are there industries and workplaces where such claims are more likely?

Whilst employer's liability insurance is a legal requirement for all employees regardless of industry type, there are some industries and workplaces where such claims are more likely. These are where the work is seen as  a particular hazard such as:

• demolition contractors
• asbestos contractors 

Does my employer have to have Employer's Liability Insurance?

The law requires your employer to have employers' liability insurance. If they do not have it, they can receive a daily fine of £2500 until they get it. The legal minimum requirement for the employer's liability insurance is to cover bodily injury of £5m. 

Think you could be entitled to make an accident at work claim? 

You may be entitled to claim compensation if you have had an accident at work. When we go to work each day, we expect to work in a safe environment and to stay well. The last thing we anticipate is an accident in the workplace. However, if you are unfortunate enough to suffer an injury at work, compensation is probably owed to you, so you should claim what is rightly yours. 

You can suffer workplace accidents wherever you work. For example, if you work in an office you could suffer an office accident, such as tripping on a loose cable. If you work in a manual labour job, you are very likely to suffer an injury while at work. The same applies to those working in industrial jobs who could suffer significant industrial injuries.  

An accident in the workplace can drastically change your everyday life, not to mention prevent you from going to work. Therefore, it is crucial to make a compensation claim to receive the compensation you deserve.

Give us at the National Accident Helpline a call today on . Alternatively, you can ask us to call you back here or you can make your claim online.