Domicillary care

[nigelfbh]

I am a domicillary care worker and need to know if my employer has insurance in case a client is injured under my care

[bednobs]

well ask your employer then! Am i missing something here?

[Eve]

Is this a before or after the event query? Ie are you asking to check in case anything happens or because something has happened?

Either way, the only real way of finding out is to ask your employer.

[nigelfbh]

The answer to the questions posed by bedknobs and jenna1978 is that firstly the event has happened and the individual has been sued and have lost their house because the employer was not insured for Public Liability.

This should be of great concern for said workers as firstly there is only a requirement for domicillary care agencies as employers to have Employers Liability Insurance and secondly are those workers paid sufficiently to afford Public liability isurance themselves and like me would you have expected your employer to practice vicarious liability for you as it is they that subject you to workplace risks?

[bednobs]

vcarious liability in my opinion has nothing to do with what risks they put you under, but rather taking responsibility for the things that you do. sounds like you have answered you own question by saying they dont have insurance for the scenario you mention. Surely the employee who was sued (and lost) must have been at fault?

[nigelfbh]

Yes as you say the employee was at fault however I always understood that vicarious liability meant that the employer would take on the liability for their employees. If the case was lost then the employer would pick up the cost which should be underwritten by insurance. Then in turn the employer would be able to dismiss the employee if they so wished (fairly).

All health & Social Care workers are exposed to risks possibly by neglect and for instance if the NHS did'nt fully support their staff as they carry out caring duties then frankly no one would work for them. Why should it be different out in the private sector?