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THE COMPENSATION CULTURE
PAUL CHASE, director and head of UK compliance, CPL Training, discusses the growing compensation culture of the UK and offers some advice on how you can avoid any costly mistakes.
Beware Compensation-itus!
We’re living in interesting times! I remember well the effect the last recession had on employment and the amount o ‘discretionary spend’ available to people. I’m sure it was no coincidence that the level of claims for compensation, in respect of injuries received while on premises that had pub- lic liability insurance policies, increased considerably during that period. Trips, slips and falls, injured backs, cricked necks - all sorts of injuries that can’t be disproved, some genuine, some not - as well as genuine ones such as cut fee from broken glass, can all give rise to a claim. So, expec and prepare for an increase in such claims as the fall-ou from the government’s public spending cuts begins to bite We live in an increasingly litigious society, and one in which people are increasingly aware of their rights and how to enforce them.
Know your legal responsibilities
In members’ clubs, you have a duty of care to members and guests to ensure the safety of those who have permission to be on your premises. While this duty of care arose in common law, these responsibilities are now part of statute law - the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. In addition, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 covers your responsibility to ensure the safety of persons other than visitors in respect of risks arising, for example, out of the state of the premises. Domestic food safety laws and EU Regulations set out onerous legal duties in respect of food hygiene and safe cooking procedures.
In addition to your duties as an occupier of premises, you also have duties as an employer of staff. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, you must ensure, insofar as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees.
Time to review and re-assess risks
What can you do to protect yourself from claims - justified or not? Well, the first thing is to review your insurances. Make sure you have adequate cover for public liability and employers’ liability - these insurances are usually sold as a package. Next, carry out some risk assessments. Look at building safety in terms of the structure and the safety of fixtures and fittings, loose furnishings and so on. Look at fire safety and evacuation procedures. In particular, examine the safety procedures you have in place for live entertain- ment or the provision of sporting activities. Lastly, look carefully at food safety.
Risk assessments all follow the same basic procedure and carrying them out isn’t necessarily difficult or complicated. Follow the ‘five steps to risk assessment’ as follows: 1. Identify the hazards 2. Identify who may be harmed 3. Evaluate the risks and consider whether existing precau- tions are sufficient 4. Record the findings 5. Review and revise as necessary
Many hazards are easy to identify and rectify - torn car- pets that create trip hazards, for example, or broken glass that is left on the floor and not cleared up. If you need help with more technical risk assessments, such as fire safety, there are specialists who can conduct these for you at rea- sonable cost.
Train your staff
You have legal obligations to train your staff in the general principles of health and safety. You also need to provide training for staff, where appropriate, in food safety, manual handling and other work processes, to ensure they can be conducted safely. You should have at least one person on duty at all times who is an ‘appointed person’ to take charge of fire safety. This person is generally referred to as a ‘fire marshal’.
You also need an appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements and to ensure the first aid box is adequately stocked. Your risk assessment should enable you to decide whether that person needs to be a qualified first aider. Usually, first aid-appointed persons take a one-day course in emergency first aid, or they can do a three-day course in first aid at work and be a fully qualified first aider.
Some of this training can only be done face-to-face, such as first aid; some of it can be done by e-learning accessed online - which is a very cost-effective way of conducting training and ticking the legal and due diligence boxes.
Check equipment and evacuation procedures
Regularly check your fire alarm and emergency lighting systems and make sure your fire fighting appliances are reg- ularly maintained. And practice fire drills and emergency evacuation procedures. Make sure you record all these actions - it protects you from accusations of negligence.
There may well be some less obvious safety hazards in your premises. Recently, a pub tenant working for a well- known pub company died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, because the pub company hadn’t checked the safety of the gas fire in the manager’s quarters.
No one wants to see their members and guests put at risk because of poor health and safety practices. Neither do you want to become a victim of the compensation culture because someone exploits a situation and makes a false claim. So, take the necessary precautions - prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure!
