>Chris is a partner in the Employment Law Group of the Arthur Cox Belfast Office in Northern Ireland.
Chris has extensive experience dealing with both contentious and non-contentious employment law matters. Chris advises a range of employers on all aspects of employment law including executive appointments, severance, grievances, disciplinary issues and trade union matters. Chris has represented clients before the Industrial Tribunal, Fair Employment Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland in employment litigation such as unfair dismissal, equality/discrimination and whistleblowing. Chris’ practice area includes advisory work and corporate transactions.
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This month's question:
Can an employer be fined for failing to display their employer’s liability certificate?
Employers in Northern Ireland must hold employer’s liability insurance, subject to limited exemptions primarily for public bodies and companies who only employ family members. The minimum level of cover which must be held is £5,000,000, however it is standard practice for insurance companies to only offer cover for £10,000,000.
Obtaining employer’s liability insurance at the required level does not, however, fully discharge employers from their obligations under the Employer’s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (as amended). The regulations give rise to additional obligations, such as the requirement for employers to display their employer’s liability certificate.
For Employers to ensure that they meet the requirement under the act regarding displaying their employer’s liability certificate, they must:
- Display certificates at each place of business where they have relevant employees
- Certificates must be displayed so that they can easily be read by employees. Therefore, employers should ensure that:
o Certificates are large enough and legible
o They are reasonably protected from being defaced or damaged
o There are enough certificates in each premises for all employees to see and read them
- Certificates are kept on display until the insurance policy comes to an end
Employers who do not fall within any of the exemptions should ensure that they are aware of the requirements under the above Regulation and comply with it at all times. If an employer fails to display their employer’s liability certificate or does not make it available to an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland upon request, this can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.
This article was contributed by the Employment team at Arthur Cox LLP
Telephone: +44 28 9023 0007
Website: https://www.arthurcox.com/
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