Employers' liability insurance
Employers' liability is a legal requirement for most UK businesses with employees. Working at the office, or from home, our insurance covers you and your team for injuries on the job and work-related illness.
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Why buy employers' liability insurance?
As an employer, it's your responsibility to look after the health and wellbeing of your workforce. And if you employ one or more people, employers' liability insurance (EL) is a legal requirement for most UK companies.
If you have employees, whether they work from home, the office or travel anywhere in the world, regardless of whether they're full-time, part-time, temporary, contracting, doing an apprenticeship or even volunteering, you may legally require EL cover.
- Covers work-related injury and illnesses, even death
- Covers legal and compensation costs
- Legally required for most employers in the UK
- £10 million of cover as standard
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What is employers' liability insurance?
Employers' liability insurance is an important type of business insurance that's designed to protect businesses if an employee makes a claim against you for a work-related injury or illness. It covers the legal and compensation costs associated with a claim made by an employee.
If you have employees, regardless of whether they're full-time, part-time, temporary, contracting, doing an apprenticeship or even volunteering, employers' liability insurance is usually a legal requirement in the UK. This makes it a must-have cover for most businesses.
If you employ people but don't have employers' liability cover in place or you're not displaying your employers' liability certificate, you could be fined. You can be fined £2,500 for every day you’re not properly insured and £1,000 if you don’t display your certificate.
Do I need employers' liability insurance?
In the UK, employers' liability is required for most employers and you must have at least £5 million of cover if you hire any type of employee.
One exception to this is if your business only employs family members. You can read more about the rules for various business types and more details of the exemption in our guide to whether you need employers' liability.
What does employers' liability insurance cover?
Workplace accidents and illnesses
It’s easy to worry about workplace accidents and illnesses when you’re leading a team of any size. And while you can put many health and safety measures in place, accidents can still happen.
If an employee suffers from a work-related injury or illness and wants to make a claim against you, employers' liability insurance could cover the legal and compensation costs associated with the claim.
Your legal requirements
Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for most businesses within the UK. If you were found to have employees, but no employers' liability policy in place, you could be fined £2,500 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for every day that you don't have cover.
Once you have EL cover, it's also a legal requirement to display your policy certificate, either online or on your business premises. If you didn't, the HSE has the power to fine you £1,000.
Peace of mind
Employees can make a claim even after leaving your business. Employers' liability can provide cover for these claims, whether genuine or malicious if you were insured with us at the time of the alleged incident.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Employers' liability claims
Employers' liability claims are different for every type of business, but here are a few examples of claims where the business could be liable.
Loose carpet
An employee is walking back to their desk and trips over a loose piece of carpet, breaking their arm.
Extreme stress
An employee suffers mental health issues after being in a high-pressure environment at work.
Insufficient training
An employee injures themself after not being given sufficient training to use a piece of equipment.
How do insurance claims work?
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.
We'll get on the case
We’ll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you’ll receive an email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We’ll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We’ll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn’t covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents and information we need, we will move forward to authorising your payment as soon as possible.
Employers' liability insurance FAQs
What is employers' liability cover?
Employers' liability insurance provides cover for legal and compensation costs associated with a claim made against you by an employee, due to injury or illness.
What does employers' liability cover?
Employers' liability insurance can protect businesses if an employee makes a claim due to workplace injury or illness. It is designed to cover the legal and compensation costs associated with employee claims.
Who needs employers' liability insurance?
Employers' liability insurance is mandatory in the UK for almost all businesses employing one or more people. This makes it an essential cover for many UK businesses.
Who is usually exempt from employers' liability insurance?
Broadly speaking, businesses without employees are exempt from employers' liability insurance. There are also some companies with employees that may be exempt. For example, businesses that employ only close family members. It's important to check your status as if you are required to have EL insurance but don't, you could face fines of up to £2,500 for each day you didn't have it.
How much is employers' liability insurance?
The cost of your employers' liability premium will vary depending on the number of workers you employ, the business activities carried out and the level of cover selected.
How much employers' liability insurance do I need?
The minimum level of employers' liability cover required for all UK businesses with at least one employee is £5 million. Superscript offers £10 million cover as standard.
What are the risks covered by employers' liability insurance?
Employers' liability claims can arise from several situations. From posture issues due to uncomfortable seating, to broken bones from falls or mental health issues caused by immense stress.
Any work situation which causes an employee injury or damage to their personal property may result in a claim against you.
What is the difference between public liability insurance and employers' liability insurance?
The difference is that public liability insurance is designed to cover claims made by a member of the public (e.g. a customer or passerby), while employers' liability insurance is designed to cover claims made by an employee.
If you'd like to know more, check out our guide to what is public liability insurance.
Learn more about employers' liability
Our insurance guides answer more of your employers' liability questions.
Do I need employers' liability insurance?
If you have employees, this cover is almost always legally required. Find out if you need it.
How much does employers' liability cost?
Several factors affect the price of EL cover — learn what they are and how much employers' liability is.
What information is needed to complete a quote?
Find out the details you'll need to provide to get a quote for employer's liability insurance.
Boost your cover with legal protection insurance
Covers compensation awards, professional fees and legal costs associated with a range of legal disputes.
Are you a landlord who employs a handyman or manager?
If you employ anyone to oversee your property portfolio, you could be legally obliged to take out employers' liability insurance. Superscript offers customisable landlord insurance for both residential and commercial properties, with our employers' liability cover included as an optional extra.
Why choose Superscript?
Cover for over 1,000 types of business
Five-star customer service and claims support
Flexibility to adjust your policy without fees
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