5. Employers' Liability Flashcards
What are the standard elements of negligence which apply in employers’ liability cases?
The usual:
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
The usual negligence defences are available.
What is the scope of an employer’s duty to employees?
To take reasonable care for their safety
What is an employer’s duty regarding the staff it hires?
To take reasonable care to ensure that fellow staff with whom employees work are competent
What two situations will an employer be liable regarding fellow employees?
- Employee not adequately trained to operate equipment
- Employee regularly makes jokes/engages in horse play; employer is aware but fails to take action, and injury results
What is an employer’s duty regarding a safe system of work?
Employer must implement a safe system of work, and provide adequate supervision and enforcement.
What can an employer delegate and what can they not delegate?
Employer can delegate implementing safety systems to a contractor, but they can never delegate their duty of care and will be liable if something goes wrong.
Where an employer delegates a task, when will they breach their duty?
If the person to whom the task is delegated fails to take reasonable care
What standard is expected of an employer?
That which would be expected of a reasonable employer
To refresh, two things will the court will consider when determining whether the employer exercised reasonable care?
- Magnitude of the risk
- Practicability of taking precautions
What is the impact of the employer owing a duty to each employee individually?
The individual circumstances of each employee are relevant to the precautions that should be taken, e.g. safety goggles may be required for employees blind in one eye because the risk of losing an eye makes them completely blind
Where a risk is present, why is the date of knowledge within an industry relevant?
Because an employer cannot reasonably be expected to take precautions against a risk before it becomes known
What does the Employer’s Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969 provide where an employee is injured in the course of work by equipment provided by their employer?
If the defect is attributable to fault on the part of some third party (e.g. supplier or manufacturer, whether identified or not), the employer will also be deemed to be negligent.
However, as a corollary, if the facts suggests there is no fault on the part of the third party, none can be attributed to the employer.
Do the standard causation rules and usual defences apply after all of this can be established?
Yes
