Employers liability insurance

What is employers’ liability insurance?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for most UK employers, under the Employers Liability Act 1969. It’s designed to protect you and your employees (including those who no longer work for you) if they’re injured or become unwell as a result of working for you, covering the associated legal and compensation costs, and other damages.

Additionally, it can cover accidental injury or damages caused by an employee to a third party, like your client. With Simply Business, you can buy employers’ liability insurance as part of a tailored policy, alongside public liability insurance, plus any additional covers you may need.

• employers’ liability insurance, UK-based claims and customer service team
• add it onto a tailored policy, alongside public liability insurance
• quotes start at £5.56* a month based on 2021 data

Start your quote

Employee insurance – what’s covered?

Employers’ or employer liability insurance can protect you against the cost of compensation claims raised by employees, if they’re injured or get sick because of your business. It’s usually a legal requirement for businesses who employ one or more people, and you risk £2,500 a day in fines for each employee not properly covered. It also works to cover damage or injuries caused to a third party, like a passer-by or client, by your employees.

• Third party injury

  You might claim for this if your employee accidentally injures someone, while working for you.

  What’s typically covered?

  Accidental third party injuries caused by your employees, while working for your business.

  For example:

  • your employee accidentally burns a customer’s hand while using a milk steamer in your coffee shop, and they make a claim
  • a jogger trips over some signage boards outside your shop, which your duty manager forgot to put away
• Third party property damage

  You might claim for this if your employee accidentally damages someone’s property, while working for you.

  What’s typically covered?

  Accidental damage to third party property caused by your employees, while working for your business.

  For example:

  • your employee is presenting to a client and accidentally knocks a laptop off a desk, causing it to break
  • while working on a client’s renovation, your temporary apprentice drips paint across a newly laid carpet, which will need to be replaced
• Employee injury or illness

  What does this cover?

  • accidental employee injuries or illness, which come as a direct result from working for you
  • temporary employees, as well as apprentices, contractors, and casual workers

  When would I need to make a claim?

  • for example, one of your employees develops musculoskeletal problems because of working for you, and raises a claim

Why is employers' liability insurance important?

Employers’ liability insurance can protect you against compensation claims for:

• employee illness or injury caused by working for you
• medical bills and legal fees due to employee illness or injury

You're required by law to have employers’ liability cover in place if you have employees. If you don't, you could face a hefty fine of £2,500 per day, per employee, for each day that you're not covered.

Read more about what employers’ liability insurance is

How much does employee liability insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Example employers liability insurance quotes, real prices

Does employers liability insurance cover my work?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect your business properly. Some examples of trades we cover include:

• Builders insurance
• Catering insurance
• Cleaning insurance
• Contractor insurance
• Hairdressing insurance
• Home baking insurance
• Online retailer insurance
• Pub insurance
• Public liability insurance for security guards
• Restaurant insurance
• Roofing insurance
• Takeaway insurance

Is your profession not listed? When you run a quote you can select your trade from over 1,000 options.

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

Example claim

Having employers’ liability insurance through Simply Business has saved UK businesses thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Employers insurance FAQs

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about employers’ liability insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

• What does employers’ liability insurance cover?

  Employers’ liability insurance protects you against the cost of compensation claims that arise from employee illness or injury as a result of working for you.

  For example, if one of your employees slips and breaks their wrist at your business premises, employers’ liability insurance can cover medical bills and legal fees that can arise from a claim against you.

  Read more about what does employers’ liability insurance covers

• How many employees can you insure?

  This will depend on the insurer you choose to go with. When you start a quote with us, make sure you tell us how many employees you'd like to cover – we'll then match you to the insurers who are best suited to your business.

• Who needs employers’ liability insurance?

  If you have employees, you'll usually need to have employers’ liability insurance in place – it's a legal requirement.

  You should also have cover in place if you have labour-only subcontractors (LOSCs) working for you. Our Knowledge centre has more information on subcontractors and employers’ liability insurance. If you have employees and you're not covered, you could face a hefty fine of £2,500 a day, per employee, for each day that you don't have cover in place.

  There's one exception though – if you have a family business that isn't incorporated as a limited company, you aren't legally required to have employers’ liability insurance.

  A "family business" is one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild, or half-sibling).

  So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it's important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn't cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

  Read more about who needs employers’ liability insurance

• Is employers’ liability insurance a legal requirement?

  If you have employees – including some subcontractors – you're required by law to have employers’ liability insurance. The only exception to this is if you're running an unincorporated family business. If you are, then you aren't legally required to have employers’ liability cover in place.

  Employers’ liability cover protects you and your employees in case they become sick or injured as a result of working for you. If you're not covered, you could be fined £2,500 per employee for each day that you don't have cover in place.

  Employers’ liability insurance must be bought alongside public liability insurance.

  If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

  Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

  Read more about employers’ liability insurance as a legal requirement

• What kind of excess should I expect?

  An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

  Insurance cover	Lowest excess	Highest excess
  Public liability	£100	£2500
  Employers' liability	No excess	No excess
  Tools	£60	£500
  Stock	£100	£500
  Business and office equipment	£50	£750

  The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

• Can I buy business insurance if I’ve had any CCJs or IVAs?

  Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

• What’s the difference between paying by Direct Debit and paying in one lump sum?

  You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

  • one-off credit or debit card payment
  • BACS payment
  • Direct Debit

  If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

• Does public liability insurance cover my business for the actions of my employees?

  This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

  If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

  There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

• Do I need cover for other types of work?

  Make sure you’re covered for the services you provide:

  • Business insurance
  • Public liability insurance
  • Commercial insurance
  • Professional indemnity insurance
  • Personal accident insurance
  • Tool insurance
  • Limited company insurance
  • Warehouse insurance
  • Factory insurance
  • Wholesale insurance
  • Manufacturing insurance
  • View all business insurance covers

  Other types of insurance

  • Limited company insurance
  • Self-employed insurance
  • Freelance insurance
  • Consultant insurance
  • Contractors insurance
  • Sole trader insurance

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions