Vicarious Liability: SQE1 Legal Principles

Practice flashcards covering the core principles, requirements, and key case law related to vicarious liability for the SQE1 syllabus.

Vicarious liability

A legal principle under which one person (most commonly an employer) is held liable for the torts committed by another (the employee).

Secondary liability

The legal status of the employer's liability, deriving from the tort committed by their employee rather than the employer's own wrongdoing.

Joint liability

The condition where a claimant can sue the employer (vicariously liable), the employee (primarily liable), or both of them for the same tort.

Right of indemnity

The right of an employer, in certain circumstances, to claim back from the employee the compensation paid to an injured party.

Contract of service

A contract under which a worker is classified as an employee.

Contract for services

A contract under which a worker is classified as an independent contractor, for whose acts the employer is generally not vicariously liable.

Relationship akin to employment

A relationship that is not a formal employment contract but shares characteristics (such as control and integration into business activity) making it fair to impose vicarious liability.

Course of employment

The scope within which an employee's tortious acts must occur for the employer to be liable, including authorised wrongful acts or unauthorised modes of carrying out authorised acts.

Prohibited act furthering employer's business

A situation, as in Rose v Plenty, where an employer remains vicariously liable even if the employee disobeyed instructions, provided the act was done to benefit the employer's business.

Lister principle

The rule that an employer is vicariously liable for intentional wrongful acts if there is a 'sufficient close connection' between the employee's job and the tort committed.

Frolic of their own

A legal phrase describing an employee acting outside the course of employment, such as making a major geographical or task-based departure from their duties.

Geographical divergence

One of the two primary factors, along with departure from the task, used to determine if an employee is on a 'frolic' based on how far they strayed from an authorised route.

Lister v Romford Ice & Cold Storage Co Ltd

The case authority establishing that an employer has a common law right to claim an indemnity for its full loss from the tortious employee.

Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978

The statutory authority that provides an employer the right to claim indemnity or contribution from an employee where they are jointly liable.

Informal insurers' agreement

An agreement where employers' liability insurers will not pursue indemnity claims against employees unless there is evidence of collusion or wilful misconduct.