While employers have to make sure that the workplace is a safe environment for their employees, thousands of workers are injured at work every year. 233,000 workers were injured in the 2009/10 financial year, according to the Labour Force Survey, although the number could in fact be much higher due to plenty of people choosing not to report accidents at work because of the bureaucracy sometimes associated with it. With numbers this high, it's important that the responsibilities of the employer are understood for both the employer and employee's sakes.
Workers are protected by the Health and Safety at Work Act, which was first passed in the 1970s and has since seen further additions to help protect employees. Employers that choose to ignore the rules and regulations or who fail to adequately meet health and safety needs are at risk not only of fines from the Health and Safety Executive, but of potentially expensive lawsuits from employers seeking compensation.
One of the simplest things an employer has to ensure is that its employees are trained for their area of work. They should also be made aware of procedures particular to the workplace, such as fire-evacuations. Workers also need to be protected properly from potentially hazard chemicals that might be used in the workplace and be given equipment to help them without the risk of danger.
The extent of your employer's responsibilities is not always so clearly defined however. For example, if you injure yourself while working outside of your usual location or you are technically defined as self-employed (perhaps as a contractor for instance). In these cases you still might be entitled to compensation, but hiring the help of a personal injury lawyer may increase your chances of success.
British workplaces are far safer now than they were in industrial times, and yet hundreds of thousands of people get injured every year. When these injuries are down to an employer shirking his or her responsibilities, compensation can help pay for all the associated costs that may come from your injury - the need to take taxi trips everywhere for example. But it should also help ensure that the employer puts into place robust measures to prevent anyone else from suffering in future.
Workers are protected by the Health and Safety at Work Act, which was first passed in the 1970s and has since seen further additions to help protect employees. Employers that choose to ignore the rules and regulations or who fail to adequately meet health and safety needs are at risk not only of fines from the Health and Safety Executive, but of potentially expensive lawsuits from employers seeking compensation.
One of the simplest things an employer has to ensure is that its employees are trained for their area of work. They should also be made aware of procedures particular to the workplace, such as fire-evacuations. Workers also need to be protected properly from potentially hazard chemicals that might be used in the workplace and be given equipment to help them without the risk of danger.
The extent of your employer's responsibilities is not always so clearly defined however. For example, if you injure yourself while working outside of your usual location or you are technically defined as self-employed (perhaps as a contractor for instance). In these cases you still might be entitled to compensation, but hiring the help of a personal injury lawyer may increase your chances of success.
British workplaces are far safer now than they were in industrial times, and yet hundreds of thousands of people get injured every year. When these injuries are down to an employer shirking his or her responsibilities, compensation can help pay for all the associated costs that may come from your injury - the need to take taxi trips everywhere for example. But it should also help ensure that the employer puts into place robust measures to prevent anyone else from suffering in future.
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