SUPPORTED BY:
The No.1 payroll and employment advisory support service for users of direct payments.
Learn more....
Personal Assistant Employment Protection Policy
You may not think of yourself as an employer. If you pay for the services of a personal assistant, you are just that, an employer. This brings with it certain responsibilities and legal obligations. For example if your employee is injured whilst helping you, you could be sued in the courts. It doesn’t have to be your fault. The fact the employee suffered injury whilst working for you may be enough for the courts to award compensation to your employee.
Similarly, if your personal assistant causes any injury to others outside the home or damage to their property, whilst undertaking duties for you, you may be liable to pay compensation. You cannot opt out of your responsibilities and you are bound by the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance Act.
Whilst household policies often contain a section covering ‘liability to domestic employees’ you should note that this is not Employers Liability cover. It was designed before the passing of the Employers Liability Act and excludes certain requirements of the Act. The Fish Insurance Policy is a complete Employer’s Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance policy in full compliance with the Act. Certain other cover is also provided.
Fish Insurance,
3-4 Riversway, Business Village,
Navigation Way, PRESTON PR2 2YP
01772 724442
www.fishinsurance.co.uk
infor@fishinsurance.co.uk
The following outlines the cover provided by The Fish Insurance Policy
Personal Accident Cover for the policyholder — example, if the personal assistant causes you injury (say drops you whilst lifting causing say, a broken arm). The policy will pay a cash benefit to you along with a daily cash benefit whilst you are in hospital.
Employers Liability £5m — injury to your employee. This extends to breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974. You are required to ensure that the employee is provided with ALL equipment, properly maintained in good condition to ensure that your employee can undertake personal assistant duties without the risk of injury. For example, you are responsible to provide hoists, lifting equipment etc as appropriate to prevent injury. If the personal assistant needs additional assistance, it is your responsibility to ensure that assistance is provided. It is also your responsibility to ensure that the employee uses the safety equipment that has been provided. The cover extends to injury to the employee whilst driving and undertaking employment duties. This cover is excluded from Motor and household policies and only provided on Employers Liability policies. Cover is also provided whilst work is undertaken overseas e.g. accompanying you on holiday.
Public Liability £2m — damage to property or Injury caused to other people by either you or your personal assistant. Cover extends overseas e.g. whilst on holiday.
Defective Premises Act Liability is covered — e.g. someone is injured or damage is caused as a result of your premises being defective.
Personal Assistants working from their own home or in premises not under the control of the disabled person: Cover is needed if the disabled person with his/her personal assistant needs to enter or assist the insured person in premises where the insured is not in control of the working environment e.g. shops, cafes, in the home of the personal assistant, on holiday, or in temporary respite care situations. These situations are now covered without additional premium, subject to a Health and Safety Risk Assessment of the property being undertaken by the insured person or his/her representatives. In all cases any assistive technology and safety products that would reasonably be required within the home of the insured person, should be made available and used by the personal assistant within alternative care environments.
We are often asked if cover is provided in respect of legal representation in relation to Employment Tribunals. This is where the personal assistant takes the Employer to court perhaps for verbal abuse, unreasonable behaviour, or injury warranting ‘constructive dismissal’. Whilst this cover is available, the likely additional cost is in the region of £150 across ALL policies. This would make the essential main policy very expensive to the vast majority of policyholders who do not envisage the need for the cover. ‘Advice only’ is freely available from ACAS (see your phone book for local office).
We recommend that employment contracts are issued where personal assistant’s fully understand and accept that certain illnesses make certain employers difficult to work with.
Fish Insurance, the United Kingdom’s leading provider of insurance policies for disabled people, provided these notes to the National Centre for Independent Living newsletter Independently. The notes are for your information. More detailed information, documents, proposals and specimen policy wordings are available direct from Fish Insurance. Should you wish to ask further questions the preferred method of contact is by email.
