The English Law on Vicarious Liability

The English Law on Vicarious Liability

An employer is responsible for damage caused by the torts of his

employees acting in the course of employment. This is known as

‘vicarious liability’[1]. Essentially, vicarious liability is where

the employer is generally substituted in terms of liability for the

employee, the employee also has liability but the resources of the

employer such as insurance makes them more financially attractive to

the claimant. The mechanism of vicarious liability is arguably the

best compromise between the needs of tort victims and the freedom of

businesses as the employer usually has insurance to cover the tort of

the employee, making it more financially viable to the employer than

directly compensating the claimant. Also, the tort victim is usually

sufficiently compensated through insurance rather than if they claimed

against the employee as the master has the ‘deepest pocket’[2].

However, recent developments in the law on vicarious liability not

only makes the employer liable for acts that are ‘directly’ connected

with what they are employed to do, but it is now established that an

employer may be liable for the unauthorised acts of an employee, where

those acts are ‘closely connected’ with the nature of the wrongdoer’s

employment. The principle of vicarious liability can also burden the

operation of a business by placing a disproportionate amount of

responsibility on an employer. More money needs to be spent on

training, employee’s characteristics need to be assessed and higher

costs will be passed on to the consumer.

Vicarious liability is incident only to a relationship of controlled

employment, tr...

... middle of paper ...

...n any case the insurance

premium that covers the claim is generally cheaper than if the

employer was to directly compensate the tort victim. Therefore, the

principle of vicarious liability is the best compromise which could

have been reached between the needs of tort victims for compensation

and the freedom of businesses to operate without excessive burdens.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] P418. Textbook on Torts 8th edition. Michael A.Jones

[2] P419. Textbook on Torts 8th edition. Michael A.Jones

[3] The Law of Torts. 9th edition. Chapter 19. p413. John G.Fleming

[4] P419. Textbook on Torts 8th edition. Michael A.Jones

[5] Vicarious Liability for Employers. Andrew Scott-Howman. 14th June

2001.

http://www.bellgully.com/publications/emp_2001_06_14_liabilty.html