Do I have a case to sue my Boss over him not providing a safe place of work?
Question from: T Moore, Armagh.
This email question came through our website recently asking us in broad terms were does he stand on taking his employee to court over not providing a safe system of work in relation to workplace violence.
In this instance, without knowing the ins and outs of the case it would be very hard to judge the case.
We have noticed ourselves from talking to various people from different sectors more employees are becoming aware of their rights to take action against the employee or person responsible if they do not take all reasonable action to protect them from harm; however in this instance we would firstly strongly recommend Mr Hinch goes to his employer and explains the risks he feels concern him and not be swayed by internet adverts on “you have a case”.
Working within this small industry of workplace violence here in Northern Ireland it has allowed us to come across various incidents and situations. When a violent assault on an employee has happened the result is the employer immediately being blamed, when at times it’s not because he or she has not put systems or equipment in place, but because they were never told about the concerns or risks in the first place.
I will not defend any employer, manager or supervisor who ignores the concerns of the people in their responsibility but anyone who feels unsafe whether working behind a counter to driving a van, should be prepared to go to their line manager and state why? Then if the person responsible does not act upon it and it is a genuine and realistic risk, then action may be taken against them if an incident arises in the future, however remember evidence and proof has to be attained to bring prosecution against anyone who is found negligent.
At Quell we don’t like to see any person thinking about legal action against a company or civil action against a person, and strongly recommend that if everyone follows the primary, secondary and tertiary systems of avoiding workplace violence the subject of legal action can be avoided.
Recently we have noticed a higher degree of adverts through the Internet stating if you are assaulted in the workplace, you can take legal action against your employer, and this is another part of the problem as it’s encouraging a issue that can be avoided and we at Quell are the preventative measure helping organisations deter these complications as all they do is harm all involved.
For any information on this subject please don’t hesitate to call or email us at Quell
Blog by Will Holland