Negligence: Employers’ Liability

These vocabulary flashcards cover the core principles of employer liability in negligence, including the four-fold duty of care, non-delegable duties, workplace stress guidelines, and relevant statutory frameworks.

Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act $1969$

A statute requiring the majority of employers to maintain insurance against claims brought by injured employees.

Primary Liability (Employer)

The employer's direct liability in negligence for breaching the personal duty of care owed to every employee.

Non-delegable Duty

A duty that is personal to the employer, meaning they cannot avoid liability for negligence by delegating the task to a third party or another employee.

Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd v English [$1937$]

The case established that an employer's common law duty comprises three specific duties: providing competent staff, adequate material, and a proper system of work and supervision.

Latimer v AEC Ltd [$1953$]

The House of Lords decision that added a fourth category to the employer's common law duties: the duty to provide a safe place of work.

Competent Staff (Duty)

The requirement for employers to provide fellow workers who do not pose a known or foreseeable risk of physical or psychological harm to others.

Adequate Plant and Equipment (Duty)

The obligation to provide and maintain all necessary tools and machinery to a safe standard for the purposes of the business.

Employer’s Liability (Defective Equipment) Act $1969$

A statute providing that an employee's injury is deemed attributable to the employer's negligence if it was caused by defective equipment provided by a third party, such as a manufacturer.

Safe System of Work (Duty)

The broadest area of employer duty, covering the physical layout of the job, task sequencing, safety training, monitoring, and disciplinary actions for non-compliance.

Safe Place of Work (Duty)

The duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the work environment is safe, which applies even to premises where employees are sent but which the employer does not occupy.

Occupational Stress

A form of injury to health where the duty of care arises if the harm was reasonably foreseeable based on the nature of the work or signs from the employee.

Hatton Guidelines

The criteria used by courts to determine if an employer is liable for workplace stress, emphasizing foreseeability and the employer's right to take an employee's statements at face value.

Health and Safety at Work etc Act $1974$ (HSWA $1974$)

A regulatory framework for workplace safety where breaches are criminal offenses but generally do not allow for civil claims for breach of statutory duty under Section $47$.

Standard of Care (Employer)

The objective standard of a reasonable employer, assessed by looking at the magnitude of risk versus the cost and practicality of precautions.

Defences to Employers' Liability

The legal arguments an employer may use to avoid or reduce liability, most commonly consent (voluntary assumption of risk) and contributory negligence.