Here in the UK, we may feel at times that there are too many rules, too many laws and too much intrusion from the State. In practice, this is probably true. However, there are many benefits to this system of government which has been in existence for the last 100 years.
The thing is, with many of the benefits, you do not even know they exist. Alternatively, they are so ingrained in our way of life (voting democracy for example) that we don’t even realise how good things are.
One area where you may not realise the benefits of state intervention, is employers liability insurance. If you work for anyone, whether you are paid a salary, dividends, bonus or you work as an unpaid volunteer, your employer must have in force a certain type of insurance.
This governed by the Employers Liability Act 1969 (with numerous revisions). What this act means, very simply, is that you have the right to sue your employer if, through their negligence, you have suffered injury, illness or disease.
Negligence is fairly wide ranging and does include something such as them not training you correctly to use a machine. This is different from public liability insurance, which is responsibility for the same things to anyone who isn’t an employee.
The law says that an employers must have a valid contract of insurance in force that provides a minimum limit of indemnity of £5,000,000 any one claim. In fact, most insurers provide double this as standard.
You will not, unless your insurer is acting illegally, get a policy with anything lower than £5m.