If one of your employees is injured at work, the same accident can produce more than one legal claim: a claim against you (the employer) (an "employer's liability" (EL) claim) and, sometimes, claims against other parties, such as the manufacturer of faulty equipment, the occupier of premises, or another contractor on site. A common question from employers is: is the legal procedure for the claim against me the same as the procedure for my employee's personal injury claim against those other parties?
The short answer: broadly yes. All of these are personal injury (PI) claims and run on the same civil procedure framework. But the EL claim against you has some features of its own. Here is a plain-English guide for England and Wales.
They are all "personal injury" claims
Whether the defendant is the employer, a manufacturer or an occupier, a claim for compensation for a physical or psychological injury is a personal injury claim. That means the same core rules apply to all of them:
- The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) govern how the claim proceeds through the courts.
- A Pre-Action Protocol applies before court, the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims, or, for many lower-value workplace and public-place accidents, the Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers' Liability and Public Liability) Claims and the online Claims Portal.
- Limitation: the injured person generally has three years from the date of the accident (or of knowledge of the injury) to bring a claim (Limitation Act 1980, s 11).
- The claim is allocated to a track (small claims, fast, intermediate or multi-track) according to its value and complexity.
So at the level of procedure, the employee's claim against you and against a third party largely follow the same path.
What makes the EL claim against you distinctive
Although the procedure is shared, the claim against the employer rests on the employer's particular duties and a key insurance feature:
- Compulsory insurance. By law you must carry employers' liability insurance (Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969). In practice this means the EL claim is handled and paid by your insurer, your first step should be to notify your insurer immediately and let them direct the defence. Do not admit liability before doing so.
- The employer's duties. Liability turns on whether you breached your common law duty of care to provide a safe system of work, safe equipment, a safe workplace and competent colleagues, or a relevant statutory duty. (Note: since the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, breach of most health-and-safety regulations no longer gives an automatic civil claim, the employee usually has to prove negligence.)
- Defective equipment. If the injury was caused by faulty work equipment, you can be liable even if the fault was the manufacturer's (Employer's Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969), though you may in turn pursue the manufacturer.
Claims against third parties, same procedure, different duties
The same injury may let your employee claim against others, each under their own duty but via the same PI procedure:
- a manufacturer of defective equipment (negligence under Donoghue v Stevenson, or product liability);
- an occupier of premises where the accident happened (Occupiers' Liability Act 1957);
- another contractor or road user whose negligence contributed.
Where more than one party is at fault, the law apportions responsibility between defendants (Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978), and contributory negligence by the employee can reduce the award (Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945).
Separate from the claim: your reporting duty
Quite apart from any compensation claim, certain workplace injuries must be reported to the authorities under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013). This is a health-and-safety duty owed to the regulator, not part of the civil claim, but failing to report is a separate offence, so do not overlook it.
Practical steps for an employer
- Notify your EL insurer immediately and follow their instructions.
- Do not admit liability or make promises about compensation.
- Preserve evidence, accident book entry, equipment, CCTV, witness details, risk assessments.
- Report under RIDDOR if the injury is reportable.
- Take advice on whether third parties share responsibility, so contribution can be sought.
Key takeaways
- The injury can generate several claims, but they are all personal injury claims on the same procedural framework (CPR, PI pre-action protocols, three-year limitation).
- The EL claim against you is distinctive mainly because it is backed by compulsory insurance and rests on the employer's specific duties.
- Claims against manufacturers, occupiers and other contractors follow the same PI procedure under their own duties, with apportionment and contributory negligence adjusting who pays.
- RIDDOR reporting is a separate obligation from the claim itself.
Sources
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969; Employer's Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969
- Limitation Act 1980, s 11; Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945; Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978
- Occupiers' Liability Act 1957; Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562; Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, s 69
- Civil Procedure Rules and the Pre-Action Protocols for Personal Injury / Low Value EL & PL Claims; RIDDOR 2013
--- This article is general information about the law of England & Wales as at 2026, not legal advice. For advice on your circumstances, consult a qualified solicitor.