What are my employers’ health and safety responsibilities?
Written by Marie Oxland | Personal Injury Team | 20 June 2024
According to the Health and Safety Executive, 135 workers were killed in work related accidents in 2022/2023. The greatest number of those fatalities occurred in the construction/building industry. 561,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries according to self-reports from the Labour Force Survey in 2022-2023 with 124,000 requiring workers to be absent from work for more than 7 days.
Falls from height, being struck by a moving object, and struck by a moving vehicle accounted for around two thirds of the fatalities. 32% of non-fatal injuries involved a slip, trip or fall in the workplace and 17% involved manual handling activity.
What is an employer’s duty of care?
All employers are under a statutory duty to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their staff. This duty of care means that employers must identify any health and safety risks to which employees may be exposed and take appropriate measures to control any workplace risks.
When is the duty of care breached?
Breach of duty occurs when an employer’s conduct fails to meet an applicable standard. It can occur in many different ways, such as failing to provide the correct training or equipment to carry out work safely or failing to properly plan and supervise work.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires an employer to carry out a risk assessment to identify hazards that are likely to cause harm; to identify who might be harmed by such hazards and how; consider the likelihood of harm and how serious the harm could be. By identifying risks and who might be harmed, helps the employer introduce measures to “control risk” so far as is reasonably practicable.
An employer should keep risk assessments under review to ensure that the control measures are adequate and take into account any changes, i.e. if a member of staff has an accident, then they should consider whether further control measures are needed.
It is often not possible to remove all risks completely and an employer will need to find a balance between the degree of risk and the time, cost, and difficulty of taking measures to control the risk.
The Regulations also require employers to train staff so that they know what hazards to be aware of and what they may face, and how to deal with them during the course of their work.
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 requires an employer to not only provide personal protective equipment for staff but also to ensure that it is used wherever there are risks that cannot be adequately controlled by other means.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires an employer and those in control of any work at height activity to make sure that work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people, including using the correct equipment.
There are further Regulations governing how an employer should ensure their employees are safe whilst at work.
Where there are breaches, there is the probability that there will be a claim by an employee who has suffered an injury.
What is contributory negligence?
Contributory negligence is when an injured person is found partially responsible for their own injuries. In such cases, an employer may suggest a percentage apportionment e.g., 70% responsibility employer and 30% responsibility employee. An example could be where the employee failed to wear safety equipment – the accident occurred for other reasons but the failure to wear safety equipment contributed to the injury, not the accident. Generally, the Employer will bear the lion’s share of liability.
If I make a claim, will my employer be personally liable?
The Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires the majority of employers to insure against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by their employees in the course of their employment and to maintain this insurance. The Act does not require an employer to insure some family members or employees not ordinarily resident in Great Britain.
There are also a small number of businesses not legally obliged to hold employers’ liability insurance which include most public organisations, such as the armed forces, Health Service Bodies, such as the NHS and some organisations financed by public funds. It does not, however, mean that you cannot pursue a claim if you were injured whilst working for them.
The Health and Safety Executive can fine an employer up to £2500 for any day which they are without suitable insurance. If they do not display the certificate of insurance or refuse to make it available to inspectors when they ask to see it, they can be fined up to £1000.
Your employer will not be personally responsible for paying you compensation. In the event of a claim, your employer will need to liaise with their insurance company, providing information as to how the accident happened and providing documentation such as accident book entries, copy risk assessments, training records etc.
What do I need to do if I have an accident at work?
If you have had an accident at work, there are several things you should try to do:
ensure that the accident is recorded in the accident book and that it accurately records how the accident happened
keep copies of any documents which you have access to which you think may be relevant
take photographs of where the accident happened if you are able to
seek medical attention ensuring you explain to medical staff how the injuries were sustained as this will be recorded in your medical records
keep records of any losses you are incurring
get in touch with a lawyer to discuss the help available to you and your next steps
If you’ve had an accident at work and are looking for more information about your options, it’s important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. Our team can advise you whether you have the potential for a claim and support you through the process effectively. You can get in touch with them by calling 01752 827085 or emailing enquiries@nash.co.uk.
