Tort - Employers' Liability Flashcards
What four duties does an employer owe employees (+ Authority)
Wilson and Clyde Coal v English:
1- Competent Staff
2- Adequate plant, equipment and machinery
3- Safe system of work
Latimer v AEC
Safe workplace
A duty to provide competent staff arises when an employer knows or ought to know about the risks posed by an employee
Hudson v Ridge
The risk posed by an employee may include risk of causing psychiatric harm (bullying)
Waters
Employers have a duty to ensure their systems of work do not contribute to psychiatric harm (stress), but only if reasonably foreseeable
Walker v Northumberland
To decide if it would be reasonably foreseeable that work would cause stress, what two things should be considered?
1- Nature and extent of the work
2- Signs the employee may be getting stressed (excluding personal life pressures)
A duty to provide a safe workplace exists wherever the employee is working, not just at the employer’s premises
General Cleaning Contracts v Christmas
Consent is rarely a successful defence for employers
Smith v Baker
Courts will make allowances for employees working in noisy/ boring and repetitive environments when deciding contributory negligence
Caswell v Powell Duffryn Collieries
If a claimant can show an employee has committed a tort in the course of employment they can sue the employer though the legal principle of vicarious liability
Various Claimants v Catholic Child Welfare Society
What three criteria suggest someone is an employee rather than an independent contractor (+ Authority)
Ready Mixed Concrete:
1- Provides work for REMUNERATION
2- Under the CONTROL OF ANOTHER
3- contract OF service (not contract FOR service)
What is the Salmond definition of ‘in the course of employment’?
1- Wrongful ACTS authorised by employer
2- Wrongful MODES of carrying out authorised acts
An off-duty employee protecting his employers property has implied permission to do so and is therefore acting in the course of employment
Poland v Parr
An oil tank driver smoking when unloading oil was doing an authorised act in an unauthorised way and was therefore still acting in the course of employment
Century Insurance v NI Road Transport Board
Employee punching customer in the face not in the course of employment (old case, may be different today)
Warren v Henleys
What conditions need to be met for an employer to be vicariously liable for intentional torts committed purely for the employees benefit?
1- Tort stemmed from an act authorised by the employer (Lloyd v Grace Smith)
2- Tort closely connected to the work the employee is employed to do (Lister v Hesley Hall) can be interpreted widely (Mattis v Pollock)
If an employee acts in a way expressly prohibited by the employer but is done to further the employers’ interests it may be deemed done in the course of business
Rose v Plenty
If an act is something an employee has no right to do and is not done to furthur the employer’s business is will not be seen as done in the course of employment
Twine v Bean’s Express
An employee may be on a ‘frolic of his own’
Joel v Morison
whether an employee is on a frolic is a question of fact and degree (Consider nature and purpose)
Hilton v Thomas Burton
Employers have the right to claim an indemnity against employees but will not do so unless misconduct by the employee was wilful
Lister v Romford Ice
