Lynch Solicitors - Personal Injuries & Equity Litigation, Medical Negligence, Bankruptcy,  Property and Estates  & Divorce and Family Law

Call Us: +353 52 6124344 | Email: [email protected]
  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Practice Areas
    • Personal Injury & Litigation
      • DePuy Hip Implant
      • Road Traffic Accidents
      • Accidents at Work
      • Acident on Roads & Footpaths
      • Mental Illness & Claims
      • Repetitive Strain Injuries
      • Pessonal Injuries Board
      • Time Limits to Claim
    • Medical Negligence
      • A Guide to Medical Negligence
      • A Guide to Professional Negligence
      • Do I have a Case
      • Tips on Medical Negligence Cases
      • Medical Negligence – Narcolepsy
      • Time Limits to Claim
      • Solicitors in Medical Negligence
    • Divorce & Family Issues
      • Divorce
      • Breakdowns – the Options
      • How Assets are Dealt with
      • How Maintenance is assessed
      • Prenup & Co-habit Agreements
      • Mediation
      • Civil Partnerships
    • Property Services
      • Tips for First Time Buyers
      • Rights Of Way Explained
      • How to own Property with another
      • Tips on Selling a Property
      • Tips on Business Leases
      • Tips on Renting
    • Wills, Succession & Estates
      • How a Will works
      • Why to make a Will
      • Executors, Guardians , Trustees & Attorneys
      • Enduring Powers of Attorney
      • Fair Deal Scheme
      • Bereavement - the Legal Process
      • Rights of Spouses and Children
  • News & Blogs
  • Publications
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
    • Our Fees
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
CALL USSEND US YOUR QUERY
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Personal Injury & Litigation
  • Don’t Overlook Your Health and Safety at Work for Fear of Losing Your Job
24/03/2023
John Lynch
Thursday, 30 June 2011 / Published in Personal Injury & Litigation

Don’t Overlook Your Health and Safety at Work for Fear of Losing Your Job

Employers have certain duties towards each and every employee.  These duties are two-fold.  Firstly, employers owe a statutory duty under the Health and Safety Acts to protect the wellbeing of their employees.  An employer also owes a common law duty to their employees and is liable where there is negligence.  There is an overlap between the Statutory and Common Law duties owed by employers.

Negligence

An employer is required by law to take reasonable care for employees’ safety.  However, the employer’s duty is not an unlimited one and employers can not be expected to act as insurers.  Whether an employer is ultimately found to be negligent is measured on the test of reasonableness.  The law does not require an employer to ensure the safety of employees in all circumstances; rather s/he will have discharged his duty of care if s/he does what a ‘reasonable and prudent’ employer would have done in the circumstances.  Even where a certain safety measure may appear to be obvious in the interest of safety of the employee, there may be factors which would warrant the employer in not taking such steps.  It is important to not that it is not enough for an employee to simply suggest his employer was negligent, s/he must actually prove s/he was negligent in order to receive compensation.

There are two main elements to proving negligence.  Firstly, that the act complained of was reasonably foreseeable and secondly, that reasonable care was not taken to prevent the accident.

‘Reasonable Care’

The Courts have been very reluctant to set down any specific definition of ‘duty of care’ as it is viewed as one which varies with the nature of the employment and the relationship involved between the employer and employee.  In other words an employer might have to take more care to protect a young inexperienced worker than he would have to take with an experienced employee.  Reported cases have laid down some general guidelines, which are useful but which are not exhaustive:

  • The employer is not obliged to warn the employee of obvious risks.
  • The employer cannot foresee every risk that may possibly occur.
  • An employer may be negligent by omission if he has forgotten to do something which a reasonable person would have done in the circumstances.

The courts have tended to look at an employer’s common law duty of care under the four basic headings, which include providing a safe place of work, proper tools and equipment, a safe system of working and competent staff.

Employers and Employees duties under Statute

As well as common law duties an employer owes duties, under statute, to safeguard employees in the workplace.  Under the legislation the employer’s duty is to ensure the safety of employees, particularly by providing:

  • Safety information, instruction, training and supervision to employees;
  • A risk assessment and implementation of measures to protect workers from those risks;
  • Protective clothing or equipment;
  • Emergency plans and Safety Statements;

The act also places obligations on employees to contribute to the safe environment.  In particular, employees not engage in improper conduct or behaviour, wear personal protective clothing as required, cooperate with their employer and not do anything would place themselves or others at risk.

In addition to the Irish legislation duties and obligations are also placed on the employer under European Law.

Time Limits

In some cases injuries may not be obvious immediately or they may get worse over time.  However, an employer cannot face the possibility of an employee issuing legal proceedings over an injury over an indefinite period of time and so an injured person has a certain time frame within which s/he can take a case.  Sincethe 5th May, 2005, injured persons no longer have 3 years from the date of their injury within which they can bring a claim for compensation.  The period has been reduced to 2 years.

Unfair Dismissal

It is important to note that if a person is dismissed for refusing to carry out work that is unsafe, it would amount to unfair dismissal and s/he would be protected under the provision of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.


For further advice or if you wish to discuss any other legal area please contact [email protected] or telephone 052-6124344.

The material contained in this blog is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to legal or other professional advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you to seek specific advice from us about any legal decision or course of action.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pages

  • Blog
  • Blog Categories
  • Contact Us
  • Divorce
  • Divorce Google Form Contact Form
  • Home
  • Our Fees
  • Our Team
    • Catherine McGrath
    • Emma Greene
    • Gabriele Plek
    • Gillian O’ Mahony
    • John M. Lynch
    • Roisín Kelly
    • Susanna Manton
  • Practice Areas
    • Arbitration
    • Mediation
    • Medical Negligence
    • Other Areas
    • Personal Injury and Accident
      • Accidents at Work
      • DePuy ASR Hip Implant Recall
      • Medical Negligence – A Quick Guide
      • Occupational Asthma
      • Repetitive Strain Injury
      • Road Traffic Accidents
      • The Injuries Board – PIAB Process
      • Time Limits
    • Property Services
      • Co-ownership Agreements
      • Commercial Tenancies
      • Private Residential Tenancies
      • Tips for First Time Buyers
      • Transfer of Assets
    • Separation, Divorce & Relationship Issues
      • Civil Partnerships
      • Maintenance
      • Marriage Breakdowns – Your Options
      • Prenuptial and Cohabitation Agreements
    • Wills,Succession & Estates
      • Bereavement Legal Issues
      • Enduring Power of Attorney – Preparing for the Future
      • Fair Deal Scheme
      • Spouses and Children: Know Your Inheritance Rights
      • Wills
  • Publications
  • Videos

WHAT ARE WE ABOUT

We strive to give a voice to you as an Individual. We offer client focused service and cutting edge process and technology through ongoing research. We represent the Individual as opposed to the large Organisation. We look after you in your dealings with the Establishment or, what might be called , the Institutional forces in society.

CONTACT US

+353 (52) 6124344

Office Address: Jervis House, Parnell Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.
Email: [email protected]

GOT A QUESTION - CONTACT US
  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Practice Areas
  • News & Blogs
  • Publications
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2017 | All rights reserved | Lynch Solicitors

TOP });