Employers Liability is a type of insurance that financially protects you should your employees become ill or injured as a result of work conducted whilst under your employment. The Employers Liability Act of 1969 made Employers Liability a legal requirement (in most cases) for businesses and even made it possible for businesses to be fined up to £2,500 per day in which they operate without adequate coverage.
Do you need employers Liability insurance?
As insurance brokers we understand better than most that accidents do happen, no matter how careful you are, or how many preventative risk controls you have in place!
Simply put, the risk of leaving yourself financially exposed to compensation, legal fees and potential fines, far outweighs the cost of obtaining reasonable employers liability cover. As previously stated, your business could be fined up to £2,500 per day, should you not have cover.
What does Employers Liability Insurance cover?
Employers Liability covers legal costs and compensation if an employee (sometimes even ex-employees’) claims against your business for injury or illness. The policy typically covers:
Who is exempt from EL cover?
As explained earlier, certain businesses are exempt from buying Employers Liability, for the sake of clarity, we have provided a list below:
Although not required by law, it may be worth investing in some EL cover to protect your business as you are still liable for legal costs and potential compensation, should something go wrong.
Covid-19 Considerations?
In the post Covid-19 trading environment consideration must be given to staff working from home.
Staff who are injured or become ill within their residence whilst using equipment provided by your business are able to make a claim against your policy. That being said, consideration does need to be given to ensure that whatever work they are carrying out does not invalidate their own home insurance policy.
If in doubt, it is worth speaking to your broker / insurer.
