Employment practices liability

Employment disputes are becoming more frequent and more costly, providing one of the fastest growing areas of corporate liability. Many companies struggle to get to grips with the ever increasing employment legislation and, however good intentioned, a harmless interview, an employee’s request or just a bad day at the office can frequently lead to a costly employment claim.

Employment Practices Liability insurance provides insurance for the employer, their management and their employees. Typically a policy will cover legal liability following an employment dispute and the legal costs and expenses in respect of employment or health and safety investigations.

In most cases policy cover will come with either an employer helpline which can be particularly useful. Helpline provision varies in the quanitity of advice available free – some policies provide unlimited calls, others limit the number or amount of time that a comapny can call the line for free. In cases where the call time is limited insurers will normally allow continued calls on a discounted rate.

Some insurers provide free access to online employment library resources such as tailored handbooks, documents such as job descriptions and appraisal forms as well as policies and procedures that you can edit to fit your own companies requirements. These can be extremely helpful and are of real benefit to both small and medium companies who do not have a personnel department.