Employers' liability insurance

Employers' liability insurance quote

Growth and progress often starts with new employees, but added responsibility can carry added risks. If you employ one or more people, employers’ liability insurance - sometimes called EL insurance - will almost always be a legal requirement. 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.

Insuring temporary workers

Even if you employ short-term staff, casual workers or contractors, you will usually be required to have employers' liability insurance. Simply Business provides temporary workers' insurance for many types of business - grab a quote below, and put a policy in place today.

Need more detail? Read below:

• Do I need employers' liability insurance?
• Public liability insurance vs employers liability insurance
• Learn more about business insurance

Cover from £5.17 a month, get insured in minutes. (10% of direct debit customers repay their annual policy in 10 monthly payments of £5.17 or less across all our trades insured. Based on data from 1 July - 31 December 2020, for comparison only. Cancellation charges may apply, please refer to our full terms & conditions.)

What is employers’ liability insurance?

Employers’ liability insurance protects you against the cost of compensation claims arising from employee illness or injury, sustained as a result of their work for you. It is a legal requirement if your business employs one or more people, and you could be fined £2,500 for each day you're not covered.

For example, if one of your employees develops an RSI or musculoskeletal problems because of their work for you, EL insurance can cover medical bills and legal fees that may arise from a claim.

Still confused? Check out our FAQs for a full employers' liability insurance definition.

Do I need employers' liability insurance?

If you have employees, contractors, casual workers or temporary staff, you're usually required by law to take out employers’ liability cover, to deal with any claims from employees who’ve been injured or become seriously ill as a result of working for you.

Reduce your claim risk

Good health and safety practices are a great first defence, reducing the chance of accidents and illness. Make sure you know the regulations for your industry and carry out regular risk assessments with your employees.

Need more information? check out our FAQs and Knowledge centre articles:

• Is employers’ liability insurance a legal requirement?
• 1969 Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act & 2008 amendment

Watch the details

• If you employ staff and don’t take out employers’ liability cover, you could be asked to pay a £2,500 fine for each day you don't have it in place
• Make sure you tell us the correct number of clerical and manual staff, if you employ both, or any claims you make may be invalid
• Casual workers, part-time workers and temporary staff all count as employees

Claims from former employees

Remember, some illnesses take time to show symptoms. It’s possible that a former employee may claim compensation, perhaps a long time after they’ve stopped working for you. Employers’ liability insurance can cover this, but you must keep on file all documentation related to your insurance, even if it’s expired.

It's good to let your insurer know your ERN as this can be used to trace past employees.

Can I see some real examples of employers' liability insurance claims?

Below is a real-life example where a customer has saved themselves thousands of pounds having insurance through Simply Business. Can you afford to go without employers' liability insurance?

Employers' liability insurance saved him more than £15,000

Leon was fitting some floors with his employee, Jeff (not their real names). During the job, Jeff walked across some of the floorboards and fell, resulting in a nasty injury. Luckily, Leon had employers' liability insurance so Jeff's medical costs were covered when he looked to recover them from Leon’s business.

Claim settlement: £15,152

What the business owner had to pay: nothing (nil excess)

Employers' liability insurance FAQs

This is a key cover for most businesses – our comprehensive FAQs answer some of the most popular questions about public liability insurance.

What is employers' liability cover?

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

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

How much does employers' liability insurance cost?

The cost of your employers' liability cover will depend on a number of factors. For example, the number of employees you have, and the type of work they do.

If you choose to get a quote from us, we'll provide you with a selection of covers from a range of top insurers. This'll give you the chance to pick the cover and price that's right for you and your business.

Read more about the cost of 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.

Read more about employers’ liability insurance as a legal requirement