Miniseries: Employers Liability Explained

Following on from our introduction post about the lack of insurance in the electrical industry, here is the first in our new miniseries, focusing on Employers Liability insurance.

Often people find the rules surrounding Employers Liability confusing with regards to business insurance. The rules state that Employers Liability is compulsory for anyone who has employees working for them.

So even if you have been a one man business but have now expanded and employed someone to work with you, you will need to get Employers Liability insurance.

It is needed to cover the cost of damages, claimants costs, legal costs for employee injury and the cost of property damage if the damage is the employers fault.

You must legally take out a minimum of £5m but many insurance companies provide £10m as a standard rate of cover for this insurance.

Also, if you fail to provide an Employers Liability certificate on request by inspectors, it is more than possible that they will fine you £1,000 and £2,500 every day after for not having the insurance cover required.

It is vitally important that all employers comply with this legal requirement and that they ensure the safety of all their employees.

Although not an employee’s responsibility, they would be wise to remain diligent and ensure that they ask employers and potential employers if they have this type of insurance. Those who comply with the law should have no issue in confirming that they have Employers Liability insurance in place. If however, an employer is evasive when asked this question, it could be that they don’t have cover.

If both employers and employees are meticulous in this matter, the law and everyone’s safety can be ensured.

Written by Sara Thomson