Common Law~help me to answer the question....?

Question

You have a friend who is planning to start up in business as a hairdresser. She has considerable experience and has found premises. She asks your advice on the matter.

1. why is she being required to take out Employee and Public liability Insurance??

Answer 1

Employee and public liabilty insurance is a requirement for the occupier of any business premises. It is there to ensure she can meet her liabilities if an accident occurs. Not alot of people know that occupiers of all premises are liable if someone is injured on their property, even residential owners. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (I think that's the year) makes it impossible for an occupier of business premises to attempt to exclude or limit their liability for injury sustained on the premises. Whereas an owner of residential premises can do so i.e by placing a warning sign Saying for example THE OCCUPIER ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY INJURY WHILE ON THE PREMISES. There are alot of technical points to note with this; particularly in relation to children, however, so be careful and always seek proper advice.

As an employer she also suffers from something called 'vicarious liability'. This basically means that she is liable for the acts of her employees while they are performing duties assosciated with their work. i.e say someone comes into the hairdressers who is a celebrity (david beckham for arguments sake) a trainee junior gets asked to dye his hair for him and he has an allergic reaction to the dye causing his head to swell to the point where he can no longer see, hence stopping him from playing football. As the employer she is jointly liable for any claim that david, or real madrid, may make. This is reasoned by the simple and logical point that the employer sees the sole benefit of the employees work and so should bear the burden of the responsibility for that work.

As far as I personally am aware one is only legally required to take out public liability insurance under U.K law although it has been several years since I completed my legal studies on this particular subject and I may be mistaken!! It is always advisable to take out the employees insurance though; as I have already stated the owner of the business is vicariously liable for the acts of the employee and she would be the first person any decent lawyer came after as 1- she is likely to be insured 2- she is likely to have more money than the actual offender in the event of no insurance. Depending on the type of business this is(sole trader, partnership, limited company) may mean that she could, potentially, lose her house and everything else of value in the event of a claim without it.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

To ensure that, should any accident happen on the premises, thye are covered by insurance for any claims. Don't forget, if there are accidents and someone gets burnt by faulty chemicals or equipment, any injuries would be expensive to treat, need plastic, cosmetic surgery, mean the person has to take a lot of time off work. The owner, personally, would be liable for this without correct insurance. It also covers accidents to employees. Any one who has a business has to ahve piublic liability insurance, and if they employ people then they need employee liability insurance.

Answer 3

Workers Comp insurance is mandatory in most states unless the employer posts a bond with the state.

Public liability insurance is mandatory in most states to protect the public in claims against the business. For example, if a customer slipped and fell on the premesis or on the sidewalk outside of the business or was injured by the chemicals used in the business.

Answer 4

All businesses in the UK have to have public liability insurance - shop around it doesn't cost too much. It's in case you are sued for making someones hair green - or someone slips on your step and fractures their skull. Remember this next time you fall over drunk leaving a pub or bar - the owner has public liability insurance - send him your medical bills......

Answer 5

In case someone makes a claim against her for an accident either by an employee or a member of the public

Answer 6

Everyone that has a chair in a salon needs insurance because the salon cannot be held responsible if the hairstylist does something to hurt the client. It's only to protect the salon against a law suit.

Answer 7

The simple answer is that 'Its the Law'. Any premises where people are employed and/or where the public will be present have to have insurance.

Answer 8

A drop on the floor and someone slips and there goes your livelihood. In short all businesses have to ensure they have enough cover for any remote possibility from employee to customer injury, workers comp cases are huge and so are payouts for accidents. Society has become "sue" happy and so businesses have to protect themselves for any possibility.

Answer 9

In case she stabs someone in the eye with her scissors, or one of her employees burns someone's hair off with a bad perm, or a roof tile falls off the roof and kills an innocent passer by. The list is endless. It also protect you against false claims!

Answer 10

Here's a link to a good explanation of why it's necessary and what it is.

http://sbinformation.about.com/od/insurance/a/liability.htm