Vicarious liability Flashcards
Meaning
Law makes one person liable within legal relationship for tort committed by another
why might some people argue that VL is unfair?
Innocent party liable for something they haven’t
Personally done or failed to do it
Liability on employee not directly at fault.
justifications
Responsibility of the employer
Hiring and firing
Improving health and safety standards
compensation
Responsibility of the employer
employee may be carrying out instructions of the employer
Hiring and firing
Employees responsible for hiring firming monitoring and discipling staff.
Improving health and safety standards
employees responsible for making sure all employees trained so work done safely
Compensation
Employer usually in better financial position to pay than employee
Salmond test
Employees committed unintentional tort
Worker had employment status
Employee committed tort during the course of employment
Effect of VL
individual who committed the tort will be jointly liable with the employer
Parties to VL
Tortfeasor
Claimant
Defendant
Tortfeasor
Person who commits tort
Claimant
Victim who suffers harm and brings action
Defendant
Person liable for Tortfeasor’s tort
Traditional tests for employment status
works under a contract of service
Control test
An independent contractor is someone who is told what to do whereas an employee is told what to do and how to do it
Club gave orders and paid him
Walker
Hired out equipment so permanent employee liable
Mersey
Owner who employed him liable
Hawley
Integration test
It provides that a worker will be an employee if his work is fully integrated into the business
Liable as relationship of employment
Cox
Multiple economic reality test
tests consider various factors which may indicate employment or not
Ready Mixed Concrete
Employees provide work or skill in return for a wage
Accepts work controlled by employer
Terms of contract consistent
Tools and equipment
Employee less likely to own these at work
Payment
Employees more likely to be paid regular payments
Tax
Employees pay tax and national insurance
Job description
Person declare themselves as employee
Independence
Flexibility in being able to work from other sources
Council liable for abuse
Armes
Cases
Barclays
Catholic child welfare
Can more than one employee be vicariously liable
Viasystems
What’s element 2?
Is the person acting in the course of employment
Limpus
Employer liable as driving was his job
Four points for course of employment
- Employee is doing their job
- Employee is doing their job but in an unauthorised manner
- Employee is doing their job but carelessly
Century
Employer liable as he was doing his job even if negligent
Acts that would not be in the course of employment
- Employee is doing acts outside the scope of their employment
2.Employee is doing their acts outside the time of their employment
3.Employee is giving an unauthorised lift to someone
Beard
Bus conductor drove without authority so employer not liable
Hilton
Took unauthorised break when event happened so employer not liable
Smith
Travelling being paid for during the frolic may make employer still liable.
Twine
Employer not liable as the negligence of the driver during a forbidden lift killed someone.
Modern approach to VL
‘Close connection test’
‘Close connection test’
Commission of the alleged tort closely connected to the employment
Lister
If an employee commits a criminal act at work and there is a close connected to what employee was employed to do. Employer liable.
Claimants
Independent contractor so not liable
Morrisons
Employers not liable for a wrongful act.
What did Barcalays set out for element 1?
Confirmed VL tests
VL will not be imposed if the tortfeasor is an independent contractor.
