Violence in the workplace – when is the employer liable?

Posted: 24/05/2012

As a claim against the Aberdeen branch of Sainsbury’s for the responsibility for the death of one of its employees stabbed by a colleague comes to court, Penningtons takes a look at the extent to which an employer could be liable from a civil perspective for personal injury in relation to employees assaulted at work.

An assault in the workplace is any form of physical violence against an employee, whether by a colleague, manager, customer or patient, with whom they come into contact in the course of their employment. Workplace assaults tend to be more common between fellow employees and can often leave the victim not only with physical injuries but also with shattered confidence and psychological damage.

Says Stephen John, personal injury solicitor at Penningtons Solicitors LLP: “There are an increasing amount of cases coming before the courts addressing the issues of violence in the workplace. While some assaults at work are unpredictable events that could not be prevented, in some cases there are measures that an employer should have taken to reduce the risk of harm to their employees. They do have a responsibility to take measures to reduce the risks as far as is reasonably practicable.”

In the Sainsbury’s case, the court will need to consider whether the murder was so closely connected to the killer’s employment as to render Sainsbury’s vicariously liable. The issue in this case is that there is evidence of earlier incidents shortly before the stabbing which should have alerted the employer of the risk of such an assault occurring. It is therefore not inconceivable that the court may find that the victim was killed as a result of being placed in an employment setting giving rise to the risk of injury. It may be held that the violence was closely related to the employment in time and space and, therefore, Sainsbury’s is liable to compensate the deceased’s family.

In some cases, it is foreseeable that certain persons may become aggressive and attempt to assault a fellow member of staff. They may have a history of violent behaviour, an aggressive nature or a tendency to become agitated under certain circumstances. There are various measures that an employer can take to reduce the risk of assaults on employees including risk assessments of an employee’s work and work environment.

The issue of liability for such an assault is an extremely fact-sensitive one. The violence needs to be closely related to the employment and not every act of violence would make an employer vicariously liable. Each case will be decided on its own facts as to whether the event was so closely connected to the employment to render the employer vicariously liable.

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