Employers' Liability (Common Law Negligence)

Question 1

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Duty of care

Answer 1

An employer owes its employees a duty to take reasonable care of their safety whilst at work
This is a non-delegable duty

Question 2

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Lord Wright in Wilsons and Clyde Coal Co. v English

Answer 2

Four separate non-delegable duties for employer:

• Duty to provide competent staff
• Duty to provide adequate plant, equipment and machinery
• Duty to provide a system of work and supervision
• Duty to provide a safe workplace

Question 3

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Hudson v Ridge Manufacturing

Answer 3

Duty to provide competent staff arises when an employer knows/ought to know of the risk posed by an employee.
(Confirmed in Waters)

Question 4

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Waters v Commission of Police (duty to provide competent staff)

Answer 4

Risk posed by the employee may be one of psychiatric harm (eg bullying)

Question 5

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

A duty to provide adequate plant, equipment and machinery

Answer 5

This is relevant where:

• employer provides plant/equipment which is inadequate in some way;
• employer does not supply ALL the plant/equipment required for the job

Question 6

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

s.1(1) Employer’s Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969

Answer 6

Relevant where a defect in equipment was caused by a third party (manufacturer/supplier)
If injured by this defect, employee may sue employer themselves, provided he can establish: fault on part of someone; and this fault caused employee’s injury

Question 7

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

A duty to provide a system of work and supervision

Answer 7

Employer must not only devise a safe system of work, but take reasonable steps to ensure it is complied with.
ie physical lay-out, training, warnings, notices, safety equipment etc.

Question 8

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Walker v Northumberland County Council

Answer 8

Duty to provide a system of work and supervision extends to stress-induced (psychiatric) harm

Question 9

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Hatton v Sutherland

Answer 9

Confirmed the principle in Walker, adding that:

Employer’s duty only arises where injury to health through stress at work is reasonably foreseeable

Question 10

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Factors to consider for psychiatric harm (under duty to provide a system of work and supervision)

Answer 10

Nature and extent of the work itself; and

Signs from employee himself (but disregarding any problems in his personal life)

Question 11

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

A duty to provide a safe workplace

Answer 11

Added as a duty in the case of Latimer v AEC Ltd

There is an overlap with duty under Occupiers’ Liability Act

Question 12

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

General Cleaning Contracts

Answer 12

Duty to provide a safe workplace applies to wherever employees are at work, not just premises of employer.
Cannot be delegated to an independent contractor

Question 13

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Breach of duty?

Answer 13

Has employer reached the standard of the reasonable employer?
Duty is owed to each individual employee, taking into account their individual circumstances.

Question 14

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Defences - Consent

Answer 14

This defence is rarely allowed as employees are not deemed to have freely consented to risk of being injured by employer’s negligence - they are obliged to (Smith v Baker)

Question 15

Employers’ Liability - Common Law Negligence:

Defences - Contributory Negligence

Answer 15

Available to employers under Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 but courts will make allowances for employees working in noisy conditions (Caswell v Powell Duffryn)