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Iceni Magazine | March 28, 2024

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Work Safety For The Self-Employed

Work Safety For The Self-Employed

Self-employment in the UK accounts for 15% of the labour force, which is a staggering 4.8 million people, and the majority of those have no employees.

For this growing number of people (and trends suggest that it is still growing), the workplace has become a very different environment to navigate. From sick days to holidays to health and safety, the standards of what can be expected from a workplace have changed drastically; several recent lawsuits against companies such as Amazon, show that the explosion in self-employment has resulted in a lack of understanding of what self-employed workers’ rights are.

Self-employment has had a modern update and is often called ‘the Gig Economy’, giving the impression that it’s a carefree, simple way to be employed without having to commit to one employer or be restricted by traditional working roles. However, the reality is rather less glamorous than that with most self-employed workers actually contracted to work for a single company and facing harsh financial penalties if they fail to complete their work. Not quite as carefree as initially thought. That’s not to say that’s true of all work like this, as different companies make it work in different ways and each freelancer or self-employed person approaches their contracts differently.

It often feels very complicated figuring out just what a contract with the companies entails, leading many to be unaware that these companies do need to provide certain things, but the uncertainty around just how far this goes means lawsuits are currently setting the standard after people have already dealt with difficult working environments. This extends beyond things like paid holidays and sick leave; it includes providing a safe working environment, which is especially important for workers. Getting injured and then not being able to work as a self-employed person is an untenable position to be in due to a lackof benefits. But is it really all on the shoulders of the self-employed?

The short answer is “no”, but it is more nuanced than that. The fact is, each worker will have agreed to different terms in their contract and this can often impact what the companies can refuse to offer and what they have to provide. We’re focusing on health and safety, so let’s get into how a self-employed person with no employees might actually be able to hold a company to account for an accident or injury.

One of the more talked about ways the gig economy has grown is through delivery drivers – of all the sectors with a large numberof self-employed workers, this is where health and safety practices, or the lack thereof, were called out first. The main issues weredriving while tired or working for unreasonably long periods of time without a break, we’re talking fifteen hour days in some cases and still being unable to complete deliveries. For drivers employed by a company,the outcome is clear – this is against HSE guidelines and would result in a successful lawsuit. For a self-employed driver, the difficulty is that it is assumed it is their responsibility to be safeand is also what the companies hiring them were banking on as well. But this is being challenged by a union lawsuit which also challenges several other issues facing delivery drivers. So, watch this space closely, as the law could be certain very soon.

However, if the driver was provided with a vehicle by the company they worked for, circumstances could be very different. For example, if the accident happened because the van was poorly maintained, then that is the company’s responsibility, not the driver’s. This and other aspects of health and safety are very clear for those who are self-employed. For example, if that same delivery driver, was hurt while delivering to a company who had obstructed the stairway to their office meaning the driver fall and was injured, then that company would be liable for the driver’sinjury whether they were self-employed or not. That’s because the driver was on their property and the company is responsible for health and safety there.

Moving away from the self-employed delivery driver, the situations mentioned here are transferable to many other job types, like construction workers, taxi drivers, and remote workers. A common industry for work-related accidents is construction and is again somewhere a lot of self-employed workers are hired, however, because they are working on land that is the responsibility of a business, health and safety onsiteis clearly that of the business, not the individual. This makes any claims for industrial injuries compensation quite simple for those involved, even if they might be partly responsible for implementing good health and safety practices.

This takes us into the realm of contributory negligence, which sounds intimidating, but is actually quite straightforward. If someone is injured and part of the reason they were hurt was that thecompany did not follow protocols, but it was also because that person was doing something they shouldn’t have, they have contributed to the accident. As someone who is self-employed, this can also apply but shouldn’t put you off pursuing a company that neglected their duty of care to you.

If you are self-employed and are injured while working, two of the simplest questions to ask are“who owns the property or business I am on?” or “who owns the equipment I was using?”, this might give you a very good idea of who may be responsible for your injury. But if you’re still unsure, Citizen’s Advice or a trusted solicitor may be able to help clear things up for you.


 

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