Protect your firm against careless employees

Many employers believe the law is biased against them but city lawyers insist they have nothing to fear – as shown in a recent case involving an injury to a two-year-old girl.

The toddler was walking along a street with her mother at the same time as an engineer was carrying out repair work at the top of a street light.

As the mother and daughter passed under the light, the engineer accidentally dropped a reflector which hit the little girl. She wasn’t seriously injured but suffered a cut that required two stitches.

Faizal Essat of Andersons Solicitors said: “It’s the kind of incident that gives employers nightmares. No one wants an injury to an innocent passer-by on their conscience, especially a child.

“And there’s also the fear of being prosecuted, and having to pay compensation which could be crippling in the current climate.”

In this case, however, the firm was found to be blameless because it had done everything possible to ensure public safety.

It had followed all the legal procedures and provided the engineer with the required training. The problem was that the engineer had not followed those procedures and had failed to put up safety barriers.

The Health and Safety Executive found that no blame could be attached to the employer because the engineer “had been properly trained by his employer to carry out this kind of work safely”. The HSE took no action against the employer but prosecuted the engineer who was fined £2,250 and ordered to pay costs.

Faizal Essat said: “The law is not biased against employers despite what many people think. As long as firms have the correct legal and training procedures in place they should have little to fear from the law, whether it’s an employment issue, health and safety matter or anything else.”

For more information please contact Faizal Essat or call 0116 416 1966.