How Will Suing My Employer Impact My Relations At Work?
Many employees face a difficult dilemma if they have been injured at work and believe that the accident was the fault of their employer. If a worker is forced to take a period of time off work due to an injury, they may be unpaid during that period, and may also face costly medical bills. This is apart from the pain and suffering they will have experienced.
The question an injured person will ask themselves, is whether suing their employer will impact on their working relationship and job security. The answer depends on the specific circumstances of an injured worker’s case, though an employer would face a claim for unfair dismissal, were they to sack an employee without justifiable grounds to do so.
At first glance it would seem that the employer-employee relationship will be irreparably damaged in practical terms, by the prospect of the two parties contesting a court case. In reality however, the vast majority of claims are settled through negotiation before they reach the court stage.
Employers are obliged by law, under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, to hold employers’ liability insurance, covering them in event of a successful personal injury claim brought against them by an injured worker. When a claim is successful, and a settlement to a dispute is agreed, compensation will be paid out under the terms of the employer’s insurance policy.
There is normally no direct financial loss to the employer therefore, and this helps to reduce the bitterness of the affair for both parties.
In most cases, the facts surrounding an accident at work, and where responsibility for the incident lies, is relatively easy to establish. Once a negotiated settlement is reached between the two parties to a claim, it is possible for the employer-employee relationship to continue as before. Workplace safety will often have been improved due to the failings exposed by an injured worker’s compensation claim, which may therefore ultimately seem to have been beneficial to both parties.
Apart from the fact that employees are protected from dismissal without valid reason by employment legislation, there is no reason why working relationships will be damaged or destroyed by a contested personal injury claim. Each case is unique, and injured workers should seek free specialist legal advice to determine what effect making a claim may have on their working life and future prospects.
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