EMPLOYMENT LAW APRIL 2019
Employment law SOS
This month, our legal expert explores the very public breakdown
of a relationship at work, an employer misreporting the extent
of a worker’s injuries and the challenges involved in keeping
factory visitors safe while touring a busy shopfloor
BY DAVID BESWICK, SENIOR PARTNER, EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND www.eversheds-sutherland.com
Two years ago, I suffered
a serious injury at
work, which led to a finger
being amputated. The
support I received from
my then-employer was
minimal. Indeed, I have since
discovered that my incident
was only reported to the
Health & Safety Executive by
a contractor who was on site
a week later and overheard
two colleagues laughing about
my injuries. I’ve received no
compensation, despite the
HSE finding serious failings in
the health & safety practices
at the company. What are my
next steps?
You will not be automatically
entitled to compensation as a
response to the HSE’s findings;
however, you will have the
option of bringing a claim for
negligence resulting in personal
injury and could use the HSE
findings to support your claim
for compensation.
You will have three years
from the date of your injuries
or your knowledge of the extent
of your injuries in which to
make a claim (this period can
sometimes be extended at the
court’s discretion).
Whilst there is no legal
requirement for you to instruct
a lawyer to act on your behalf, I
would suggest that you consult
a legal adviser who specialises
in personal injury claims to
assist you, as there are specific
procedural requirements that
will need to be followed in
making a claim and preparing
for a hearing. Often, where
a claim is submitted to
court, particularly where it
is accompanied by strong
evidence of negligence such
as a HSE report, the claim will
be settled by the payment of
compensation in advance of it
reaching a final court hearing.
In terms of the lack of
support by your ex-employer
following your accident, if you
resigned in direct response to
that lack of support or failure
by your ex-employer to take
action, you could potentially
have brought a claim for unfair
constructive dismissal at the
time of your resignation.
However, the basic time
limit for bringing such a claim
is three months from the
effective date of termination
of employment. This can be
extended slightly by an ACAS
Early Conciliation period and/or
this is proving tricky. We can
assign them different shifts,
but this hasn’t stopped the
bitching and snide comments,
which is causing disruption
to other members of staff.
What can we do to stop their
squabbling – at least while
they are at work?
Often, personal relationships
between staff members will
not cause any problem in the
workplace. However, where a
relationship does interfere with
work, for example because of a
breakdown in the relationship
that causes disruption as a
result, the company will have
a responsibility to ensure
that neither the business, nor
other staff members, are being
impacted by the feud.
Where staff members are not
conducting themselves in an
appropriate way at work, it may
be appropriate to deal with the
matter through the disciplinary
procedure. This is regardless
of the fact that the issue stems
from a personal relationship.
In the first instance, it
is often appropriate to seek
to address the matter on an
informal basis, speaking to
both of the staff members and
reminding them that they must
both conduct themselves in a
professional manner at work.
Further, that disciplinary action
could result if they persist in
bringing their personal issues
into the workplace, particularly
where this could disrupt other
members of staff and impact
the business. If this informal
approach does not resolve the
matter, then the company’s
formal disciplinary procedure
should be invoked.
It is important in addressing
the issue that the company
at the discretion of a Tribunal.
Given the significant time that
appears to have passed, though,
it’s likely that any such claim
would be time-barred. As such,
I would suggest that pursuing
compensation through a
personal injury claim is likely
to be the more successful route.
A married couple on our
shopfloor, who met
at work 25 years ago, are
currently going through a
messy and very public divorce.
It’s reached the stage whereby
neither can tolerate being in
the same room as the other.
Considering they both work in
the same area of the factory,
12 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/www.eversheds-sutherland.com
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk