If you are running your own business and you’ve employed people to work for you, it is important to have insurance to provide protection in case anything goes wrong. In the UK, you must have employers’ liability insurance to cover all members of your staff, if you fail to take out a policy, you can face legal action. Here are some of the benefits associated with having protection insurance.
Legal Requirement
It doesn’t matter if you’ve only one staff member in your company, you are still required by UK law to have employers’ liability insurance. A limited company who is trading without this type of insurance is breaking the law and if found, they could face worrying consequences.
Some business owners get confused as to what constitutes an employee, they often hire personnel on an ad-hoc basis, so they are unsure as to whether they should have employers’ liability insurance. If you’ve entered into a contractual agreement with workers or your HR department makes deductions from their wages through PAYE, then it is safe to say they are employees of your company. If you provide them with work and you’ve control over where they go and what they do during the day, they are generally recognised as part of your workforce.
Peace of Mind
Employers’ liability insurance is like personal liability insurance in that it covers individuals for damages or injuries which occur while carrying out tasks. Employers’ liability insurance is the commercial version of personal liability insurance.
Although having employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement under UK law, it isn’t just important because you are legally obliged to have it. For example, if you operate within the construction industry, the risk of an accident occurring is higher than other industries. If one of your staff members gets injured, you are liable to pay for their medical bills.
Having insurance doesn’t just give you peace of mind, it also allows your staff to work without having to worry about cover if something goes wrong. If employees know that you’ve taken extra steps to secure their safety, they’ll appreciate your concern and work harder to improve productivity.
Financial Security
Having employers’ liability insurance is vital, especially if you work in high risky industries like construction. A good insurance policy will have you covered in the event of an accident, if you are held liable and you don’t have insurance, you could easily face financial ruin, not to mention dealing with the courts for not having a policy which is a standard legal requirement.
If a major incident occurs and several employees get hurt, without the appropriate cover, you could be faced with huge medical bills. Employers’ liability insurance offers years of financial protection.
Having employers’ liability insurance is vital for several reasons, aside from being a legal requirement, it provides you and your workers with peace of mind. Your employees know that if anything goes wrong while on the job, they’ll be covered under a legitimate policy taken out by their employer.
I set this blog up a couple of years ago now as a way to share my experience that I’ve gained through my school education and my real life education. It sounds geeky, but the economy is something that I’m really passionate about and it’s something that I am actually pretty talented in, so it’s great for me to share these experiences with those that may be struggling a little bit with finance and figuring out how to navigate the economy.
