As your business grows, you may find yourself needing an extra set of hands (or two!) to meet the needs of your customers. Employers’ Liability provides cover if an employee needs to make a claim for illness or injury suffered during the course of their employment due to the negligence of the employer. It is a legal requirement for most businesses to have Employers’ Liability if you employ:

·        Full time or part time staff

·        Self-employed contractors

·        Apprenticeships, volunteers or work experience placements

You also would need Employers’ Liability if you were a limited company with more than one director.

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How much cover do I need?

The Employers’ Liability Act 1969 requires employers to have a minimum level of £5 million but most policies, including cover sourced by Cliverton, offer £10 million as standard. Due to the increased cost of claims, this ensures peace of mind.

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What is covered?

Employers' Liability insurance covers the costs of claims made by current or former employees who suffer illness or injury during their employment, if the employer is found to be negligent.

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What is not covered?

Employers’ Liability is not the same as personal accident cover for your employees. This means that if there is an accident which is not due to the employer’s negligence and it is a pure accident, there would be no cover. However, with any incident it is always best to report it to your insurer even if there may not be a claim made.

If you or your employees are interested in Personal Accident cover, please contact our friendly team to discuss your options or take a look at our Cliverton Protect policy which offers an enhanced level of cover.

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How can I protect my employees?

As an employer, it is your responsibility to take steps to ensure the safety of your employees and there are many ways to be pro-active about this. These include (but are not limited to):

·        Ensuring employees are trained adequately

·        Providing full health and safety risk assessments and keeping these up-to-date.

·        Providing the appropriate safety equipment ensuring this is checked regularly, replacing any equipment when needed.

It is also important for your employees to notify you of anything that could impact their health and safety at work so that you can make any changes needed.

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What else might I need to know?

It is a legal requirement that you ensure your employees have reasonable access to your Employers’ Liability certificate, should this be digitally or physically.

As an employer, if you are registered with HMRC you will be provided with an Employers Reference Number (ERN) which can also be referred to as the Employer PAYE reference number.

Your ERN can be found on correspondence from HMRC in relation to being registered as an employer. Although the format can vary, it is typically in the following format:

123/AB456

You will need to have this ready when looking to set up an Employers’ Liability policy as your ERN must be provided to your insurer at inception of the policy.

If you would like further information regarding Employers’ Liability insurance, you can visit the Health and Safety Executives website here.

To discuss your policy or to enquire about a new quote, please contact our friendly team, who will be happy to help.

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