Employers' Liability Flashcards
What is meant by personal and non-delegable responsibility? In which case was this made clear by Lord Brandon?
It means an employer cannot defend himself by saying the performance was delegated to another. He still remains liable for breach (McDermid v Nash Dredging)
Who has the burden of proof in an employee/employer claim?
The claimant
What are the three specific duties employers owe to their employees given in Wilsons and Clyde Coal v English?
- Provide a safe place of work, including materials and plant;
- Operate a safe system of work, including supervision and instruction;
- Provide competent employees.
Despite the specific duties listed in Wilsons and Clyde Coal v English, there really is only one duty to take reasonable precautions for employees’ safety. Give an authority for this.
Lord MacDermott in Winter v Cardiff Rural District Council
If an employer says he has met a statutory duty may he still be liable?
Yes, the common law duty operates independently of the statutory duty (Bux v Slough Metals).
What does the case of Johnstone v Bloomsbury AHA say about employers’ liability and employment contracts?
There duty on employers to take reasonable care of their employees is an implied term in every contract.
What does the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 enforce?
It makes it mandatory for every employer to take out insurance to cover liability claims.
Which case established that employers need to provide a safe place of work?
Lord Herschell in Smith v Charles Baker and Sons
What did the case of Wilson v Tyneside Cleaning Co add to the duty to provide a safe place of work?
The duty exists in relation to third party premises, although at lower standard, as well as the employers’ own premises.
According to Mulcahy v Ministry of Defence when is there no duty to provide a safe place of work?
In battle - a soldier was not able to claim for hearing loss suffered in the Gulf War.
What case established and what case confirmed the authority for providing safe machinery?
Established in Qualcast v Haynes and confirmed in Bux v Slough Metals.
What were the decisions in Qualcast v Haynes and Bux v Slough Metals?
In Qualcast v Haynes the employer had discharged his duty by providing safety boots. In Bux v Slough Metals the employer had not discharged his common law duty (he had fulfilled the statutory duty) to provide safety goggles because he had not insisted on employees wearing them.
How was the appellant able to avoid liability in Yorkshire Traction Co Ltd v Walter Searby?
A bus driver had been stabbed and claimed that the bus company had been negligent in not providing a protective screen, but the bus company argued that they had removed the screens after drivers complained of the glare and the risk of assault was low. On balance the court discharged duty.
Which Act makes employers’ liable for defective equipment?
Employers’ Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969.
What does s1(3) Employers’ Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969 define as equipment?
‘any plant, machinery, vehicle, aircraft and clothing’ (interpreted widely)
What was found to be equipment in Coltman v Bibby Tankers?
A ship
What was classed as equipment in Knowles v Liverpool City Council?
A flagstone
What specific duties may we say exist under the duty to operate a safe system of work?
- Provide reasonable instruction
- Supervision
- Ensure a safe layout
- Ensure safe operations
- Provide warnings and notices
How did Lord Greene define an unsafe system of work in Speed v Thomas Swift and Co?
‘The physical layout of the job … the sequence in which work is carried out, the provision of warnings and notices, the issue of special instructions.’
Will the employer still be liable if the employee does not have regard for his own safety?
Yes (General Cleaning Contractors v Christmas)
How does the case of Latimer v AEC limit the duty to provide a safe place of work?
The duty is to take reasonable steps to provide a safe place of work only.
Which case clarifies that a safe place of work must not simply be devised but also implemented?
McDermid v Nash Dredging
Which case confirms an employer should take into account an employee’s personal characteristics? Which case clarifies that an employer only needs to take reasonable steps?
Paris v Stepney BC
Withers v Perry Chain Co
What is the authority for employers’ liability arising from deploying an incompetent fellow employee not capable of doing the job causing damage to another employee?
Black v Fife Coal Ltd
Can an employer be liable for an employee who plays pranks?
Yes, if the employee is a habitual prankster (Hudson v Ridge Manufacturing Co Ltd).
No, if it’s a one-off (Smith v Crossley Bros) although the employer may still be vicariously liable.
What is the authority for employers’ liability for bullying and sexual harassment?
Harrison v Lawrence Murphy & Co, The Chartered Secretary
What is the test for breach in employers’ liability?
Have reasonable steps been taken by the employer to prevent damage/loss (Latimer v AEC)?
What is the test for causation in employers’ claims?
Factual (but for? McWilliams v Sir William Arrol) and legal causation.
What is the test for remoteness?
Is the type of damage reasonably foreseeable (The Wagon Mound (No 1))?
Is it possible for an employee to claim for mental harm such as stress?
Yes (Walker v Northumberland CC; Hatton v Sutherland; Barber v Somerset CC)
Which case tells us that the injury an employee has suffered must be of a recognised kind?
Mughal v Reuters Ltd
What defence are the courts suspicious about in employment claims?
Volenti may only be invoked in extreme circumstances where ‘there was a genuine full agreement, free from any kind of pressure, to assume that risk or loss’ (ICI Ltd v Shatwell).
Give a case in which contributory negligence operated?
Barrett v Ministry of Defence
Bux v Slough Metals
