Employers Liability - An Update

The Department for Work and Pensions (DPW) have introduced amendments to the Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance Regulations 1998, in an effort to reduce the administrative burden on businesses.

Regulations and Code of Practice

The need for employers to keep records of EL certificates for forty years is removed from 1 October 2008. Employers should still display one or more copies of the Employers’ Liability certificate of insurance at each place of business at which they employ any relevant employee. However, as an alternative, employers are now able to make the certificates available to relevant employees in an electronic form.     

The Employers’ Liability Code of Practice involves a commitment by insurers to search EL policy records and to maintain policy details for 60 years.  The new Protocol recommends that ‘relevant policyholder details’ be recorded, which should include the subsidiary and trading/operating names of all insured operations that have employees in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. It may also include the nature of business, company numbers, addresses and dormant names of these insured operations. 

The Employers Liability Tracing Service

To support the commitment to helping potential claimants, the ABI will continue to provide its free EL Tracing Service.  This has evolved from a paper-based system receiving 1000 enquiries a year, to an online system handling around 10,000 enquiries a year.

 

For further information on this topic, please contact Weir Insurance brokers