Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

17.15.3 Coverage
Employers are only required by law to have employ-
ers’ liability insurance for people whom they employ. 
However, people who are normally thought of as self-
employed may be considered to be employees for the 
purposes of employers’ liability insurance.
Whether or not an employer needs employers’ liability 
insurance for someone who works for them depends on 
the terms of the contract. This contract can be spoken, 
written or implied. It does not matter whether someone is 
usually called an employee or self-employed or what their 
tax status is. Whether the contract is called a contract of 
employment or a contract for services is largely irrelevant. 
What matters is the real nature of the employer/employee 
relationship and the degree of control the employer has 
over the work they do.
There are no hard and fast rules about who counts 
as employee for the purposes of Employers’ liability 
insurance. The following paragraphs may help to give 
some indication.
In general, employers’ liability insurance may be 
needed for a worker if:
➤
national insurance and income tax is deducted from 
the money paid to them
➤
the employer has the right to control where and 
when they work and how they do it
➤
most materials and equipment are supplied by the 
employer
➤
the employer has a right to any profi t workers make 
even though the employer may choose to share this 
with them through commission, performance pay or 
shares in the company. Similarly, the employer will 
be responsible for any losses
➤
that person is required to deliver the service person-
ally and they cannot employ a substitute if they are 
unable to do the work
➤
they are treated in the same way as other employ-
ees, for example, if they do the same work under the 
same conditions as some other employee.
In most cases employers’ liability insurance is needed for 
volunteers. Although, in general, the law may not require 
an employer to have insurance for:
➤
students who work unpaid
➤
people who are not employed but are taking part in 
youth or adult training programmes
➤
schoolchildren on work experience programmes.
However, in certain cases, these groups might be classed 
as employees. In practice, many insurance companies 
will provide cover for people in these situations.
One diffi cult area is domestic help. In general, an 
employer will probably not need employers’ liability 
insurance for people such as cleaners or gardeners if 
they work for more than one person. However, if they only 
work for one employer, that employer may be required to 
take out insurance to protect them.