Employers' Liability Insurance for firms with staff
Employers' liability insurance covers compensation and legal costs when an employee is injured or made ill through their work. Specialist brokers compare policies for workforces on sites, in workshops, in warehouses and on the road.
- Meets the compulsory cover requirement for employers
- Injury and occupational disease claims
- Rated on wage roll, adjusted to actual figures
Reviewed October 2026 by the MyBusinessComparison.com editorial team
What is employers' liability insurance?
Employers' liability insurance protects your business when an employee claims they were injured or became ill because of their work for you. It meets the compensation and legal costs involved. Most UK businesses with employees must hold it, and a business can be fined for every day it trades without it.
Cover reaches beyond permanent staff. Apprentices, temporary and seasonal workers, people on work experience and labour-only subcontractors working under your direction are usually treated as employees for this cover. Volunteers may be included, depending on the insurer.
Disease claims are what set this cover apart. Industrial deafness, vibration white finger, occupational asthma and asbestos related illness can appear decades after exposure, and the claim attaches to whichever policy was in force when the exposure happened. That is why insurers record policies on a central tracing database, and why keeping old certificates is worthwhile.
Employers' liability insurance in brief
- Compulsory?
- Yes, for most businesses with employees
- Who it protects
- The business, against claims brought by its staff
- Limit
- Most policies are written well above the compulsory minimum
- Claims trigger
- When the injury happened or the exposure to disease took place
- Priced on
- Wage roll, type of work, staff numbers and claims
- Proof of cover
- A certificate staff can see, on paper or electronically
- Not covered
- Road traffic injuries, which fall under motor cover
What employers' liability insurance pays for
The cover responds when an employee alleges the business was negligent or failed in a duty owed to them. These are the claims and costs it typically deals with.
Workplace injuries
Falls from height, manual handling injuries, machinery accidents and slips at work, including compensation for pain, lost earnings and future care.
Occupational illness and disease
Long term conditions linked to work, such as industrial deafness, vibration injuries, dermatitis, respiratory disease and asbestos related illness.
Defence and legal costs
Solicitors, medical experts and engineering reports used to investigate and defend a claim, usually paid on top of the limit.
Health and safety prosecution defence
Many policies include the cost of defending a health and safety prosecution after a workplace incident, though not the fine itself.
Read more about commercial legal expenses cover
Temporary and labour-only workers
Agency staff, labour-only subcontractors and casual workers under your control, as long as they are declared and included in the wage roll.
Staff working away from base
Employees on clients' sites, in customers' premises or on short business trips abroad, within the territorial limits of the policy.
Read more about business travel cover
Unsatisfied court judgments
If an employee wins damages against another party for a work injury and that party fails to pay, many policies will meet the unpaid amount.
Claims after a breach of conditions
Because the cover is compulsory, the insurer usually still pays the injured employee where certain policy conditions were broken, but may then recover that payment from the business.
Cover that sits alongside employers' liability
- Public liability: injury or damage to customers, visitors and the public, which employers' liability does not touch
- Group personal accident: fixed benefits for injured staff whether or not the business was at fault
- Commercial legal expenses: tribunal and contract disputes that a liability policy will not defend
- Management liability: unfair dismissal and discrimination claims, which sit outside employers' liability
Who needs employers' liability insurance?
If you employ people, you almost certainly need it. Claim patterns, and the questions insurers ask, vary sharply between sectors.
Not sure who counts as an employee? Ask the broker to review your whole workforce, including agency and labour-only staff. For sector packages, see insurance by industry.
- Construction firms and contractors: falls, manual handling and long term exposure to dust, noise and vibration, often with labour-only gangs on the wage roll
- Manufacturers: machinery guarding, noise levels and chemical exposure are central to how insurers rate the risk
- Engineering and fabrication firms: welding fumes, grinding and heavy lifting, plus staff working on customers' premises
- Warehouse and storage operators: forklift operations, racking and manual handling across shift patterns
- Haulage and logistics firms: injuries in yards and depots during loading and unloading, separate from road accidents handled by motor cover
- Hospitality businesses: burns, cuts and slips in kitchens, and a high turnover of seasonal and part time staff
- Care and healthcare providers: patient handling injuries, needlestick incidents and stress claims among clinical and support staff
- Cleaning and facilities firms: chemical exposure, lone working and staff spread across many client sites
- Recruitment and staffing agencies: who employs a placed worker depends on the contract, and insurers want that made clear
- Security companies: assault and lone working risks for guards, door staff and patrol officers
- Farms and agricultural businesses: machinery, livestock handling and seasonal labour, often alongside family members
- Offices and professional firms: lower injury risk, but stress, display screen and slip claims still arise and the cover is still compulsory
How much does employers' liability insurance cost?
The premium follows how many people you employ, what they do and how often things have gone wrong before. These are the points insurers rate.
Wage roll by activity
Most insurers split wages between clerical and manual staff, and further by trade. Manual wage roll carries a much higher rate than office wages.
Nature of the work
Work at height, demolition, heavy machinery and hazardous substances push the rate up. Office, retail and design work sit at the lower end.
Labour-only and agency staff
Payments to workers under your direction usually count as wage roll. Leaving them out can lead to an adjustment, or a dispute when a claim arrives.
Health and safety management
Risk assessments, training records, health surveillance for noise or dust, and accident reporting all influence terms for higher hazard firms.
Claims and disease history
Insurers look at the number and cause of recent claims, and at whether past work could produce disease claims in future.
Year-end adjustment
Many policies are rated on an estimated wage roll and adjusted once the year ends, so accurate estimates avoid an unexpected extra premium.
What employers' liability insurance does not cover
Employers' liability is broad, but these claims and costs sit outside it.
- Injury to members of the public, customers or visitors, which needs public liability insurance
- Road traffic accidents involving staff driving for work, which fall to your vehicle insurance or fleet policy
- Employment disputes such as unfair dismissal, discrimination or harassment, which need management liability or legal expenses cover
- Fines and penalties imposed after a health and safety prosecution
- Offshore work and hazardous activities such as asbestos removal, unless declared and accepted
- Staff permanently based outside the UK, who need cover arranged locally
- Genuinely independent contractors not under your control, who should carry their own cover
Employers' liability or group personal accident cover?
Both pay out when staff are hurt, but they work in very different ways and many employers hold both.
| Feature | Employers' liability | Group personal accident |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Defends the business against negligence claims from staff | Pays agreed benefits to injured staff |
| Fault needed | Yes, the business must be found liable | No, benefits are paid regardless of fault |
| Compulsory | Yes, for most businesses with employees | No, it is an optional staff benefit |
| What is paid | Compensation agreed or set by a court, plus legal costs | Fixed sums for death, disability or time off work |
| Illness | Covered, including disease from past exposure | Usually accidents only |
| Usually suits | Every business with employees | Firms with travelling, lone or manual workers |
How to compare employers' liability cover
Accurate workforce information is the foundation of a sound policy. Gather the following before you ask for quotes.
Map your workforce
List employees by role, including part time, seasonal, agency, apprentices and labour-only workers, and anyone working overseas.
Estimate wage roll for the year ahead
Split it between clerical and manual work and by activity, and include payments to labour-only subcontractors.
Collect safety evidence
Risk assessments, training records, noise or dust monitoring and any health surveillance, especially for manual trades.
List claims and incidents
Recent claims with causes and outcomes, and notes on what changed afterwards.
Check the detail, not just the price
Compare the limit, exclusions for hazardous work, territorial limits and any conditions you must meet to keep cover intact.
Hiring or growing your team?
Tell us about your workforce and a specialist broker will compare employers' liability cover for you.
Get a quoteEmployers' liability insurance FAQs
How much does employers' liability insurance cost?
The premium is driven mainly by your wage roll and the type of work staff do, so an office firm and a construction firm with the same payroll can pay very different amounts. Claims history, safety management and the use of labour-only staff also count. A broker can explain how your rate is built up.
Do I need employers' liability insurance for part time or temporary staff?
Yes. Part time, temporary and seasonal staff count in the same way as full time employees, as do most apprentices and people on work experience. The main exemptions are unincorporated family businesses whose only employees are close relatives, a limited company whose only employee owns half or more of its shares, and many public bodies.
Who counts as an employee for employers' liability?
Anyone working under your control and direction usually counts, whatever their contract says. That often includes agency staff, labour-only subcontractors, apprentices and work experience students. Genuinely independent subcontractors who supply their own tools, labour and insurance normally do not.
What happens if my business does not have employers' liability insurance?
The business can be fined for each day it trades without cover, and for failing to display or provide the certificate. More seriously, any injury claim from an employee would have to be paid from the company's own funds, which can threaten the business.
How long should I keep employers' liability certificates?
There is no longer a requirement to keep expired certificates, though the current one must still be displayed or made available to staff. Keeping old ones is worthwhile, because disease claims can arrive decades after exposure and a certificate is the quickest way to prove which insurer was on risk.
Does employers' liability cover employees injured while driving?
Not on public roads. Claims arising from road accidents are normally handled under the motor policy for the vehicle, and employers' liability usually excludes injuries that motor insurance must cover. Injuries in yards and depots, such as during loading, are usually covered. See fleet insurance for vehicle cover.
Does employers' liability cover stress and mental health claims?
Yes, a claim that work caused a psychiatric injury, such as stress from an excessive workload or bullying, can be brought under employers' liability if the employer was negligent. These claims are harder to defend without records, so documented workloads, return to work plans and absence management help.
Does employers' liability cover unfair dismissal or discrimination claims?
No. Employers' liability deals with injury and illness only. Disputes over dismissal, discrimination or harassment heard by an employment tribunal need employment practices cover within a management liability policy or a commercial legal expenses policy.
How do I get an employers' liability insurance quote?
Send your details from this page to reach a broker who arranges employers' liability every day. It speeds things up if you have employee numbers by role, your estimated wage roll divided into clerical and manual work, any labour-only spend and details of recent claims.
Compare employers' liability insurance for your workforce
Compulsory cover arranged properly, with a limit, wage roll and terms that reflect the people you actually employ.