In a recent decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal, an employee was awarded $588,515 in damages for an injury sustained in the course of her work, notwithstanding that she had failed to follow a safe work policy, which if followed, would have avoided the injury.
In this case, the employee was employed by a labour hire company, performing work in the factory of, and under the supervision of, another company. An interesting feature of this case is that it was the supervising company, not the employer, who was found negligent for failing to comply with its duty of care. The supervising company was ultimately found liable because it had failed to supervise the employee and failed to identify and correct her incorrect application of the safe work technique.
"The supervising company was ultimately found liable because it had failed to supervise the employee and failed to identify and correct her incorrect application of the safe work technique". |
Although this case involved the manufacturing industry, the case more broadly illustrates that it may not be enough for an employer to put in place policies that provide for a safe workplace and train employees in those policies. In addition, an employer should ensure, by adequate supervision, that its employees implement safe work practices. This decision therefore raises three questions for employers, whether with regards to their own employees, or other workers/contractors under their direction:
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