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When is an employer liable for an employee's violence?- 03/02/2012
In the conjoined cases of Weddall v Barchester Healthcare Ltd; Wallbank v Wallbank Designs Ltd the Court of Appeal considered the issue of employer liability for the actions of violent employees. In both cases the Claimants were the victims of violence at work, inflicted by other employees.
In Weddell the Claimant was a manager who had phoned an employee to make a routine request to see if the employee was available to work a night shift. The employee was drunk, cycled into work and inflicted serious violence on the Claimant. The manager proceeded to make a claim against his employer, believing it to be vicariously liable for the employee’s actions.
The Court of Appeal held that the drunken employee had undertaken an independent venture of his own. His actions were motivated by his own reasons and were separate and distinct from his employment. Although the manager made the phone call in the course of his employment, this formed only the pretext to the act of violence. It was held that the violent employee was not acting during the course of his employment as his assault could not be said to be sufficiently connected to the work he was required to do.
In Wallbank it was held that an employer was vicariously liable when an employee attacked his manager after being given a reasonable instruction at work. The Claimant in the case was a senior employee, who was concerned about the rate at which a junior employee was loading goods onto a conveyor belt. The Claimant went over to assist the employee with loading the items saying “come on” as he did so. The employee then placed his hand on the Claimant’s face and threw him onto a table, fracturing a vertebra in the Claimant’s lower back. It was held that as the violence was related to the employment in terms of both time and space, and that as the violence was a spontaneous and instantaneous reaction to the instruction, it could be said to have been committed in the course of employment.
Each case was determined on its own facts. Employers should bear in mind that in cases involving employee violence, the test for establishing vicarious liability will involve an assessment of whether there is a sufficient connection between what the employee is required to do and the violent action. A sufficiently close connection must be established.
For further information, please contact Daff Richardson, Eugene Wojciechowski, Tom Walker or Sarah Johnson.