Understanding accident at work employer responsibility allows you to identify negligence and take the right steps. If you have suffered an injury due to your employer breaching their duty of care, you could be eligible to start an accident at work claim. We understand that you may feel overwhelmed by all the information available about your employer’s responsibility to you, which is why we have created a useful summary to answer some of the key questions.
Keep reading to find out about your employer’s responsibility for an accident at work. You can also learn about the different legislation that is in place to uphold your employer’s duty of care to you.
Furthermore, we explain when your employer is obligated to report accidents in the workplace. Finally, you can discover how to start a claim for accident at work compensation with the help of one of our solicitors on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you have any questions about your employer’s responsibilities or would like to check your eligibility for a personal injury claim, do not hesitate to contact one of our advisors:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Use our online contact page
- Use the live chat feature on this page
Jump To A Section
- What Are Employer’s Responsibilities For Accidents At Work?
- Key UK Laws for Workplace Safety
- Examples of Employer Responsibilities
- Accident Reporting: What Employers Are Obligated to Do
- How To Make a Claim If Your Employer Is Responsible for Your Injury At Work
- Why Choose Legal Expert For Your Claim?
- More Information
What Are Employer’s Responsibilities For Accidents At Work?
If you have experienced an accident at work, you may be wondering whether or not your employer is liable to pay compensation. The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) outlines the duty of care that your employer owes to you. This means that your employer is responsible for taking reasonable and practicable steps to protect your health and safety in the workplace.
In order to claim accident at work employer responsibility, you must be able to prove that:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care
- They failed to enact their duty
- This led you to suffer an injury
Furthermore, if you experience an accident at work your employer is responsible for, why not contact an advisor to find out if you can start a compensation claim?
Key UK Laws for Workplace Safety
The UK has laws in place to protect your safety in the workplace. These include:
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999– This means that your employer must implement health and safety measures. For example, they must conduct risk assessments and provide appropriate training.
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992– This sets out your employer’s responsibility to provide free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to employees where it is necessary to do the job safely.
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992– This establishes that the workplace must meet the welfare, health and safety needs of employees. For example, the employer must keep the workplace well-lit and clean.
- The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992– This requires employers to assess and reduce the risk to employees when performing manual handling tasks. Therefore, employers must carry out risk assessments.
- The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)- This makes it necessary for an employer to report certain injuries to the HSE, including fatalities, dangerous occurrences and some occupational diseases.
Continue reading to find out more details about these pieces of legislation and how they should be enacted in the workplace. If you have any questions, you can contact our advisors for further guidance. They can discuss the specifics of your case and potentially connect you to a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Examples of Employer Responsibilities
Your employer has certain legal responsibilities to their employees. It is up to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a British public body, to uphold and enforce health, safety and welfare measures in the workplace. This means that your employer must:
- Assess risks that could impact their employees
- Plan, organise, control, review and measure any preventive or protective procedures that are in place
- Create a written health and safety policy (if more than five people work for the company)
- Ensure access to competent health and safety advice
- Communicate with employees about risks in the workplace as well as preventive and protective measures
What Health and Safety Training Should Employers Provide?
The need for training will vary depending on the work environment or role. Health and safety training will differ between an office and a factory. For example, if an employee has to perform manual handling tasks, they need to be shown good handling techniques and how to use mechanical aids correctly.
Does My Employer Have A Responsibility To Provide PPE
According to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, PPE refers to any equipment which is meant to be worn or held by someone at work and which protects them against one or multiple risks to their health and safety. Examples of PPE include:
- Safety helmets
- Safety footwear
- Ear or Eye protection
- Harnesses
- High-visibility clothing
If a risk assessment concludes that PPE is necessary to perform a job safely, the employer must provide it free of charge. Furthermore, the law upholds your employer’s duty to check that PPE is:
- Appropriately assessed before use to ensure it is fit for purpose
- Used correctly by workers
- Properly maintained and stored
- Given with instructions for safe use
When your employer fails to provide PPE, and this causes you harm, you could be eligible to claim workplace compensation. Additionally, if you experience an accident at work your employer has a responsibility to make changes to stop such an accident from occurring again. Contact one of our advisors with any questions you have regarding your employer’s responsibilities to you.
Workplace Risk Assessments
As stated previously, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require your employer to perform risk assessments to reduce the risk of harm to employees. Therefore, your employer must:
- Identify hazards
- Determine the risk
- Take appropriate actions to either remove the hazard or control the risk
If you believe that your employer has failed to uphold such measures in the workplace, resulting in a workplace injury, you could be eligible to start an accident at work claim and potentially receive compensation. Speak with an advisor for more information.
Accident Reporting: What Employers Are Obligated to Do
As stated previously, your employer must report certain accidents that occur in the workplace to the HSE under RIDDOR. Reportable injuries suffered while working include:
- Fractures (excluding fractures of fingers, thumbs and toes)
- Amputation of a leg, foot, toe, arm, hand or finger
- Lost or impaired sight
- Internal organ damage caused by crush injuries
- Severe burns
- Scalping (where skin separates from the head)
- Loss of consciousness due to asphyxia or head injury
- Other injuries caused by working in an enclosed space, resulting in heat-induced illness, hypothermia or requiring resuscitation or hospitalisation for more than 24 hours
The employer must also keep a record of the accident report for future reference. If you have experienced an accident at work, you could potentially use a copy of an accident report as evidence to strengthen a claim for compensation. Please speak with one of our advisors today to find out if your workplace accident makes you eligible to start a personal injury claim.
How To Make a Claim If Your Employer Is Responsible for Your Injury At Work
Suppose you have read the information provided at the start of this guide and believe that your case meets the criteria. In that case, you may be wondering how to show that an accident at work was your employer’s responsibility. Keep reading to find out more.
Gathering Evidence To Support Your Claim
You will need evidence to support and strengthen your claim for compensation. This could include:
- A copy of your medical records
- Accident reports (as discussed in the previous section)
- Photos or videos of the accident (including CCTV footage)
- Contact details of witnesses who could later be called on to provide a statement
It is in your best interest to keep copies of any correspondence regarding the accident or receipts for costs you have incurred as part of your recovery. If you are eligible to take your personal injury claim forward with one of our solicitors, the evidence that you gather could help them to add the relevant damages to your claim so that you can recover your costs via compensation.
How Long It Can Take To Get Workplace Injury Compensation
We cannot provide an estimated frame for how long it will take for you to gain compensation. This is because each case is different and can be impacted by:
- The severity and type of injury
- The length of time taken to recover from injury
- The time needed to collect all the evidence that is needed for your claim
- Whether the defending party is willing to admit liability
- Whether the defending party is willing to settle
Our solicitors can help you at all stages of the accident at work claim, regardless of how long the process takes. You can contact an advisor to find out more.
Why Choose Legal Expert For Your Claim?
You may feel overwhelmed by all the information required to start a claim for compensation, but you don’t need to worry. You could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors who is experienced in personal injury law and can assist you by:
- Negotiating the settlement of compensation to cover the relevant general (coverage for pain and suffering) and special damages (coverage for costs incurred due to injury)
- Collating the necessary evidence for your claim
- Corresponding with the defendant on your behalf
- Making sure that your claim is filed within the correct time limit (which is usually three years)
- Explaining legal terms and checking that you have completed all necessary documentation
Additionally, our solicitors could offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which works on a No Win No Fee basis. This provides the benefit of not having to pay fees to your solicitor:
- Upfront
- During the claim process
- If you are not successful in gaining compensation
If you do receive compensation, you will then need to pay a success fee. This is the percentage of your compensation that you pay to your solicitor. It is legally capped to ensure that you still receive the majority of the compensation.
Our advisors are happy to help with any queries you have about claiming for an accident at work. If you are eligible, you could be connected with an experienced personal injury solicitor who can help you to get the compensation that you may rightfully be owed:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Use our online contact page
- Use the live chat feature on this page
More Information
You can visit our other guides:
- Learn how to claim compensation for a back injury
- Find out about claiming for lifting injuries at work
- Find out what happens when you make a claim for an accident or injury
Further resources:
- Visit the government webpage for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
- Take a look at HSE’s statistics on workplace injuries
- Visit the NHS webpage on mental health
Thank you for taking the time to read this guide on accident at work employer responsibility. We hope that you now have a better understanding of your rights in the workplace.
