News and Press Releases
Ignorant 5 per cent of businesses are “more likely to hurt employees”
10th November 2009
A recent survey has found that a large number of businesses are being ignorant of insurance laws.
The survey, by an insurance company, found that five per cent of businesses that employ people don’t have liability insurance required by law.
And these businesses are more likely to see employees hurt in a workplace accident, according to technical director Paul Darby from Pivotal Performance.
Paul said: “It is no surprise to me that businesses which ignore safety laws are those which are more likely to breach best working practices.
“There is a lot of health and safety legislation for a reason – because it helps to stop employees being hurt and killed at work
“But if the directors of some businesses don’t do basic research into their legal insurance requirements when employing people, they are also unlikely to know what health and safety laws apply to their business.”
He added: “It’s no great leap of the imagination to see that these directors are also much more likely to turn a blind eye to dangerous working practices.”
Paul was commenting on a survey by AXA Insurance, in association with the British Chambers of Commerce
It found that 85 per cent of organisations currently hold employers’ liability insurance.
10 per cent are sole traders who don’t require it – the remaining five per cent are likely to be breaking the law.
There is a penalty of up to £2,500 a day for businesses that don’t have appropriate insurance cover.
In addition, there is a £1,000 penalty for failing to display and provide a copy of an employers’ liability insurance certificate to an inspector on request.
Pivotal Performance has a wide range of health and safety training courses.
