Managers guilty of failing to provide for potential compensation claims

Two managers have been prosecuted for failing to buy the insurance cover that would enable them to pay compensation to their workers in case of an accident.
 
Stephen and Karen Martin employed staff at Charnock Richard's Hinds Head pub without buying Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance despite being warned on several occassions to address the situation.
 
Shellie Bee, investigating inspector at the Health and Safety Executive, said that buying insurance and being able to meet potential compensation claims is a legal requirement rather than an optional extra.
 
She said: "Because [they] cut corners to save money, they were putting their employees in a position where they could have potentially suffered a life-changing illness or injury at work and had no recourse to any kind of compensation."
 
Earlier this month, Aberdeen-based Spark's Mechanical Services Ltd pleaded guilty to an accident in which a worker fell 2.6 metres from a scaffolding tower and suffered injuries including a collapsed lung.

Published by Phil Hammond