Employers Liability Insurance and Home Working

If you are an employer whose business model has been changed by COVID-19, you may need to rethink your business insurance cover.

Many of your staff may still be carrying out at least some of their working week at home, but whether they’re in the office or in their spare room at home, you still have responsibilities for their health and safety.

The first priority for employers with staff working from home is to check their policy to see whether it covers home working. In most cases, employer’s liability insurance will cover ‘clerical activities’ carried out remotely i.e. from home, but the exact wording will need to be examined to eliminate any grey areas.

Can an employee claim for an accident they have while working from home?

The UK’s health and safety laws apply to designated workplaces, not domestic premises; however, as an employer, you have a duty to keep your employees safe while they work.

You will have limited control over the home working environment so your duty in this respect may be limited and home workers are expected to take reasonable care to protect their own safety in similar ways to when they are working in a designated workplace.

If an employee suffers an accident while working from home, whether they could make a claim in respect of personal injury would depend on the circumstances of the accident. For instance, if they tripped and fell down the stairs during working hours it might be difficult to prove that any injuries were caused by employer negligence.

However, if the equipment you have provided to enable the employee to work from home malfunctions and causes an injury, the employee may be able to make a successful claim against you.

Employer’s liability checklist

As an employer, you are expected to provide the tools and training your employees require to be able to do their job safely. As we transition out of the pandemic and employers and employees take stock of their circumstances, it is now more important than ever to ensure that safe working practices are upheld to ensure all employees are able to do so without risk.

While risk assessments at home may not be appropriate, it is a good idea for employers to consider the following:

• Do all employees have the right equipment to maintain a safe working environment at home?
• Are employees regularly contacted by line managers to provide support for issues arising out of home working?
• If employers are hoping for a return to the designated workplace, have the appropriate building safety checks been carried out and are there adequate equipment cleaning and personal sanitisation systems in place? Has this been communicated to remote employees?

Check your employer’s liability insurance cover today

Talk to Tredstone Risks today to see if we can help you with a business insurance package that provides employer’s liability cover.

We can discuss your post-COVID requirements and endure you have the right business insurance in place.