Professional Documents
Culture Documents
UNIT 4 Negligence
Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co Ltd v English [1937] 3 All ER 628 [HL]
- Lord Wright saw the employers common law duty as comprising three separate duties: (1) Competent staff (2) Adequate material (i.e. plant, equipment and machinery) (3) A proper system of work and supervision
Competent staff
Waters v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2002] 1 WLR 1607 [HL]
- Confirmed that duty is owed when an employer knows, or ought to know, about the risk a particular worker poses to his colleagues. - Also confirmed that the risk could be of psychological harm.
Safe workplace
Stress at work
Vicarious Liability
Ready Mixed Concrete (South East) Ltd v Minister of Pensions and National Insurance [1968] 1 All ER 433
- Established a test to distinguish employees from contractors (the multiple test).
Course of employment
Intentional torts
Lister & others v Hesley Hall Ltd [2001] 2 All ER 769 [HL]
- The claimants were resident at a school for boys with emotional and behavioural difficulties, owned by the defendants - Unbeknown to his employers, the warden sexually abused the claimants while they were at the school - The claimants bought an action against the defendants - The court held that there was a sufficient connection between the wardens work and the acts in question
Frolic
Lister v Romford Ice & Cold Storage Co Ltd [1957] 1 All ER 125
- the employer has a right at common law to claim an indemnity (i.e. its full loss) from the employee who committed the tort. Claims for Breach of Statutory Duty
Employers Indemnity
Sanction by statute
Damage
Causation
Defences