What do the following have in common? A managing director punches an employee; a self-employed doctor sexually assaults a bank’s prospective employees during pre-employment medical checks; a petrol station attendant violently assaults a customer; and an IT auditor releases personal data for staff at Morrisons? The answer: the employer was held for each of these incidents.
In light of recent judgments showing the courtesy of employers and customers, Marcin Durlak , employment law expert with IMD Solicitors in London, Manchester and Birmingham outlines the employers employers should do to protect themselves.
If one of your employees is discriminating against a colleague, he or she will be able to help you. It does not matter that you do not know about it.
Protection from discrimination and harassment, engaged applicants workers applicants workers applicants workers applicants workers applicants workers applicants. In light of recent case law, this was able to include people who are described as self-employed contractors.
Employers can be held by the employee’s employee. The employees have a criminal act.
Recent examples include a senior IT auditor with a grudge against his employer, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, who released on the internet about 100,000 Morrisons employees. The supermarket group was found to be a serious breach of data protection law. Last year, the Court of Appeal found a bankruptcy. A Christmas party drinking session.
The connection with the employer in the Morrison’s case was found because of the auditor’s role. In the second case, the work was going on.
The scope of liability does not stop at your employees. You may even be found liable for the wrongdoing of an individual working for your business as a self-employed contractor. The Court of Appeal found Barclays Bank liable for sexual assaults committed by a self-employed GP engaged by the bank to carry out medical examinations of employees and job applicants. Having looked at the relationship between the bank and the GP, the court concluded that the relationship was akin to employment.
There are steps you can take to help defend your business from claims arising from one employee alleging that another employee has discriminated or harassed him or her. You need to be able to show that you took reasonable steps to prevent the discrimination. A good way to do this is to have properly implemented and up-to-date equalities and anti-harassment policies and to train staff on equality and dignity at work.
It may be possible to manage some risks, for example by taking a zero-tolerance approach to aggressive behaviour or by taking unpopular steps like stemming the flow of free alcohol at work parties. Other risks will be unpredictable, and the only option is to ensure you have adequate insurance.
We can help you and your employees. Please contact Marcin Durlak in the Employment Law team on 0330 107 0106 or email business@imd.co.uk. IMD Corporate has offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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