There was recently an interesting legal case in Australia that could have an impact on employers here in the UK and their employers’ liability insurance obligations.
The case involved a logistics company and focused on the question of whether it had provided its workers with sufficient training regarding boisterous play in the workplace and whether, if not, they should be deemed liable for employers liability insurance compensation.
This followed an accident in March 2014, in which a HGV driver employee, of the company in question, was attempting to move a pallet jack within two locations: from his workplace depot to his truck.
However, the man began to ride the pallet jack as if were a scooter – something he had done on numerous occasions previously – placing each foot on each tyne. However, after a colleague became involved in the horseplay and pushed one of the tynes, the man fell backwards, hitting his head on the ground and suffering multiple spinal fractures.
Following the accident, the man instructed personal injury solicitors to begin a compensation claim against his employer’s liability insurance. He said that although he had received some form of training regarding the correct level of behaviour in the workplace, none of this related to use of the manual pallet jack or included anything relating to horseplay in the workplace. His evidence was supported by witness statements from one of his co-workers.
However, the man’s employer countered that the pallet was being used in a way that was not only unauthorised, it also directly contradicted its instructions regarding safe practice. The company’s operations supervisor did, though, have to accept that he was aware that several workers had ridden pallet jacks like scooters in the past and that he had seen them do this and had issued them with verbal warnings.
The court found that although the employer had provided training regarding pallet jacks and although it had issued warnings for their improper use, it had failed to issue any notice directly forbidding the riding of them.
Therefore, it said, the employer had failed to uphold its duty of care. In the end, the judge awarded the worker $791,514.71 in compensation.
It is important to let your workers know what you consider to be unacceptable behaviour in the workplace and to ensure that you keep a record of this otherwise you might be held liable for the business insurance financial implication of any related accidents.