I have just discussed another Employers’ Liability claim where people have ‘lent’ out their subbies to work for another contractor. The subbie then got injured on ‘someone’ else’s job.
The problem arises if you say: ‘go and do that for Max’, you could be seen as having given an ‘instruction’ and it’s a slippery slope from there.
If there is an accident, the subbie you have ‘lent out’ could try and blame you, especially if you are an easy target. This is what is happening and one of the reasons that insurance premiums are going up.
Make sure you understand the risks if you ‘tell’ a subbie to do some work for another contractor. There is a very fine line between ‘instruction’ and ‘suggestion’.
A solicitor could try and make a case against you, and suddenly you have an Employers’ Liability claim for something you had nothing to do with. This can become even more of an issue if the subbie normally works for you. Then the next topic is – should he really be an employee? More on this in another post as this is a huge subject!
And yes – this is unfair and rubbish. It makes my blood boil but this is the world we live in.
