According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), all businesses employing staff must have a basic level of employer liability cover in place. This is in case of legal action over personal injury, bullying and harassment, excessive workload or any other issues experienced by employees whilst at work.
Whilst a basic level of professional insurance cover ensures you stay on the right side of the law, there is no guarantee that it will be sufficient in all cases. What happens if your business is subject to legal action resulting in multi-million pound compensation payouts? It is true that cases like these are rare, but how would your business cope if this did happen? Without the right level of cover, you could be facing the closure of your business and maybe even bankruptcy.
The following are a few examples of the financial damage of employee injury-in-the-workplace claims:
• Deafness – BT worker David Stonier was awarded £93,000 for ‘acoustic shock’ back in 1999
• Brain damage – A firefighter claimed £900,000 in compensation after he fell from a fire appliance in 1991, causing brain damage and other injuries
• Stress and bullying – Teacher Jan Howell was awarded £254,362 after her trade union sued her employer for undue stress whilst at work, forcing her into early retirement.