TERM 2: Vicarious Liability

Question 1

What is the common law duty of care owed by employers to their employees?

Answer 1

To take reasonable care of their health and safety during the course of their employment

This duty cannot be delegated to anyone else.

Question 2

What are the three forms of employer’s liability?

Answer 2

1. Breach of personal, non-delegable duty of care
2. Vicarious liability
3. Breach of statutory duty

Question 3

What is vicarious liability?

Answer 3

A situation where one person is made liable for the tort of another person, typically an employer for the acts of their employees

It is a form of secondary liability.

Question 4

What is the standard of care required of an employer?

Answer 4

The standard of a ‘reasonable and prudent employer’

If an employer meets this standard, their duty will be discharged.

Question 5

What are the three specific obligations under an employer’s non-delegable duty of care?

Answer 5

1. To provide a competent staff
2. Adequate materials
3. A proper system of work and effective supervision

Question 6

True or False: Employers can delegate their duty of care to employees.

Answer 6

False

The duty of care cannot be delegated.

Question 7

What must employers ensure regarding the competence of their staff?

Answer 7

Employers must ensure that they employ competent colleagues and provide effective supervision and training.

Question 8

What is the significance of the case Wilsons & Clyde Coal v English [1938]?

Answer 8

It overruled the old doctrine of common employment and established specific obligations under the non-delegable duty of care.

Question 9

What must employers provide as part of their duty to ensure safety?

Answer 9

All necessary equipment and reasonable care to ensure that it is properly maintained and safe to use.

Question 10

What does the Employer’s Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969 relate to?

Answer 10

It relates to employers’ liability for defective equipment provided to employees.

Question 11

What is the employer’s responsibility regarding workplace stress?

Answer 11

Employers must manage situations that may cause stress and ensure adequate policies are in place.

Question 12

What is required to establish vicarious liability?

Answer 12

1. A fully constituted employment relationship
2. A tort must have been committed
3. The tort must have been committed during the course of employment

Question 13

What is the ‘Control Test’ in establishing an employment relationship?

Answer 13

A servant is a person subject to the command of his master as to the manner in which his work shall be done.

Question 14

Fill in the blank: Vicarious liability is a form of ________ liability.

Answer 14

strict

Question 15

What does the term ‘akin to employment’ refer to?

Answer 15

A relationship that has similar characteristics to an employer-employee relationship, which can give rise to vicarious liability.

Question 16

What are the theoretical justifications for vicarious liability?

Answer 16

1. Employers are best placed to reduce workplace accidents
2. Fairness in hiring responsibility
3. Practical convenience for compensating victims

Question 17

What does the term ‘employer’s liability’ encompass?

Answer 17

Liability arising from an employer’s breach of duty towards their employees, including personal duty and statutory duty.

Question 18

True or False: An employee’s personal liability is extinguished under vicarious liability.

Answer 18

False

The employee remains personally liable, but this may not be beneficial for claimants if the employee lacks financial means.

Question 19

What must occur for liability to pass to the employer in a tort case?

Answer 19

The tort must have been committed by the employee during the course of their employment.

Question 20

What happens if an employee acts outside the normal course of their work duties?

Answer 20

It would undercut many of the policy reasons which justify the doctrine of vicarious liability.

Question 21

Who originally defined the test for ‘in the course of employment’?

Answer 21

John William Salmond.

Question 22

What is the first condition for an act to be deemed in the course of employment?

Answer 22

It is a wrongful act authorized by the employer.

Question 23

What is the second condition for an act to be deemed in the course of employment?

Answer 23

It is a wrongful but unauthorized mode of doing something which is authorized by the employer if it was done properly.

Question 24

What did Lord Millet state about vicarious liability?

Answer 24

It is legal responsibility imposed on an employer for a tort committed by his employee in the course of employment.

Question 25

True or False: Vicarious liability is based on culpable acts of the employer.

Answer 25

False.

Question 26

What is the essence of vicarious liability according to Lord Millet?

Answer 26

It is best understood as a loss-distribution device.

Question 27

What factors establish liability according to the Lister v Hesley Hall case?

Answer 27

Connection of time and place and the link between the acts and the employment.

Question 28

What does the ‘close connection test’ emphasize?

Answer 28

The closeness of the connection between the acts of the employee and the duties they were engaged to perform.

Question 29

What must the tortious act of the employee be closely connected to, according to Dubai Aluminium v Salaam?

Answer 29

Their authorized acts.

Question 30

What principle was used in the Mohamud v Morrisons Supermarkets case?

Answer 30

The principle of social justice.

Question 31

What was the critical factor for holding Morrisons vicariously liable?

Answer 31

Sufficient connection between the employee’s position and wrongful conduct.

Question 32

What did the Supreme Court decide in Morrisons Supermarkets v Various Claimants regarding personal motivation?

Answer 32

Personal motivation remains important.

Question 33

Fill in the blank: The test established in Dubai Aluminium v Salaam is whether acts were so closely connected to their employment that it is ‘______’ to regard them as having been done in the course of employment.

Answer 33

fair and proper