I’m self-employed (director of a my own limited company, not Nova) and have been requested by my agency to sign an agreement. Two terms of the agreement are as follows:
“The contractor [that’s me] shall be liable for any loss, damage, or injury to any party resulting from the negligent acts or omissions of its staff [also me] during an assignment.”
“The contractor shall ensure the provision of adequate Employer’s Liability Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance and any other suitable policies of insurance in respect of the contractor and its staff during an assignment and shall make a copy of the policy available to the employment business [the agency] upon request.”
Have any other agency drivers been asked to sign such an agreement with their agency? If so, have you done so? How much does such insurance cost? Am I not covered by the haulier’s insurance when driving one of their vehicles?
One of my concerns is that I suspect that the costs of all these measures are not justified by the compensation. If I were a doctor or a high-flying, highly paid engineering consultant then the cost of such insurance would still leave plenty of money as disposable income. However, at £8 to £10 an hour there might not be much left for me for living expenses, let alone enjoying life!
As far as i am aware when i nearly joined blueridge you are covered for any insurance by your limited company insurance which is managed by the other company
It reads like typical insurance that an agency would have in respect of any drivers that it might employ. It’s a specialised field and it would be folly not to have such cover. As to where to obtain such cover? I can only suggest that you phone the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.
Signing it without having such cover puts your home at risk. One of the most costly types of ‘negligent’ collision is the ‘canopy strike’ at a petrol station. Not only does the repair have to be paid for but, as such repairs will often require closure of ‘lanes’ or the whole site (for Health & Safety reasons), wages and loss of income then factor into the equation.
This is something I’m going to have to check out as well since I’m in the same boat.
I’ve only been working direct for local haulage companies and so assumed I would be covered by their Employer’s Liability Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance etc. But I’ll be having to talk to some agencies shortly.
I’ve come from another industry and I think for about 250K of cover it was between £30 - 50 a month.
If I find a broker and price I’ll drop a line on here.
The agency has tried over the past two or three years to get their self-employed drivers to sign such agreements, but without any luck. I have no intention of signing the form this time, so I will investigate other local agencies.
I will also check about the legal requirements for such insurance cover, and I will post here with my results.
Tralfamadore:
The agency has tried over the past two or three years to get their self-employed drivers to sign such agreements, but without any luck.
I would suggest that the matter has arisen due to the difference of being ‘employed’ by an agency as to being ‘self-employed’ working through an agency. As an ‘employee’, the agency covers all the relevant liabilities, whereas, being ‘self-employed’ agencies have no compulsion to carry such liabilities and can therefore offer a slightly higher rate.
Of course, if you can find insurance at a reasonable rate, then you might be able to get an even higher rate from the agency.
Another point to remember is that once ‘self-employed’, your car insurance needs to be for ‘business’ use.
marcustandy:
Is this not what Conor has been trying to sort out for a while now?
Search through his posts as there was a thread on this subject (not too long ago).
Yup. Still not managed to find anything other than getting fully comp insurance to cover any HGV as well as GIT insurance and public liability - in other words everything you’d need if you were running your own wagon. Like Tralf said, the renumeration doesn’t justify the cost and TBH Tralf, £250,000 is nowhere near enough.
I’ve tried asking the agency I’m with and the guy who I deal with can’t find any info out - I doubt he’s fobbing me off as we’ve known each other for well over a decade.
Thankfully I’ve managed to find enough work with companies that don’t require it. Fortunately work is picking up now too and I’ve just been booked for the whole of July and August by one company so that’s summer sorted.
As a self employed driver running your own company not through a composite company such as Nova-Gabem etc. puts you in a position where you require Employers liability insurance as you are directly an employee of your own company.
Krankee:
I can only suggest that you phone the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.
Krankee, thanks. I contacted the REC who gave me the name of a broker. I explained the situation to the broker, who said that she had never heard of such a requirement, and that such insurance would be taken out by an agency, and not anyone placed by them with one of their clients.
Is seems to be a case of wait and see, and not signing anything.
justdrivers:
As a self employed driver running your own company not through a composite company such as Nova-Gabem etc. puts you in a position where you require Employers liability insurance as you are directly an employee of your own company.
I can understand needing Public Liability Insurance, but why on earth as an employee of your own company would you need Employer’s Liability Insurance? Surely if you’re the only employee it’s pointless unless you are planning on suing your own company?
I just did a Google for ‘Public Liability Insurance’ and got many hits back from firms offering to supply this for small businesses and the self employed. You can fill in forms on their sites and get quotes so it might be worth a go.
I don’t think it would be that expensive, I pay next to nothing for mine as an add in to my vehicle and GIT/CMR insurances.
I’ve grabbed this from a PDF on the above site re employers liability
Employers’ Liability
(Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
A guide for employers
Does the law apply to me?
You need employers’ liability insurance unless you are
exempt from the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory
Insurance) Act. The following employers are exempt:
■ companies employing only their owner where that
employee also owns 50% or more of the issued
share capital in the company.
justdrivers:
As a self employed driver running your own company not through a composite company such as Nova-Gabem etc. puts you in a position where you require Employers liability insurance as you are directly an employee of your own company.
That is not actually correct anymore - there is no statutory requirement for either employers or public liability if the company has less then ■■ staff (I can’t remember the exact wording, neither can I be arsed to google for it). There has never been any requirement for Professional Indeminty, and it is the PI insurance that will cost you through the nose - the other 2 you should (if you wanted to) be able to get for £150ish for the year. Just look through the yelow pages or Yell.com for business insurance, there are plenty of companies out there willing to take money off of you!!
justdrivers:
As a self employed driver running your own company not through a composite company such as Nova-Gabem etc. puts you in a position where you require Employers liability insurance as you are directly an employee of your own company.
I can understand needing Public Liability Insurance, but why on earth as an employee of your own company would you need Employer’s Liability Insurance? Surely if you’re the only employee it’s pointless unless you are planning on suing your own company?
Paul
I think you missed the point, it is not about suing your own company, it is if someone else wants to sue. ie. if you worked through an agency and had an accident, the company you were working for would seek compensation from the agency - however if you are a self employed driver the agency would then forward that claim onto your company.
Smcaul - I stand corrected if this is not the case however there should be a form of insurance in place in case of the above.
justdrivers:
As a self employed driver running your own company not through a composite company such as Nova-Gabem etc. puts you in a position where you require Employers liability insurance as you are directly an employee of your own company.
I can understand needing Public Liability Insurance, but why on earth as an employee of your own company would you need Employer’s Liability Insurance? Surely if you’re the only employee it’s pointless unless you are planning on suing your own company?
Paul
I think you missed the point, it is not about suing your own company, it is if someone else wants to sue.
But it wouldn’t be the Employer’s Liability Insurance that would cover a claim like that. Employer’s Liability Insurance is to meet claims for compensation and legal fees for employees who are injured, or become ill, through the fault of the employer. The only people who could sue you that Employer’s Liability Insurance would cover is employees, and as smcaul said you would be suing yourself if you made a claim under that.
I think however it is compulsory for a limited company to have EL insurance for at least £5 million. if your business is not a limited company, and you are the only employee, or sole traders are not required by law to have it.
Public Liability Insurance covers damages and legal fees to a member of the public who has been injured, or had property damaged, caused by you or your company. Many firms require proof of cover for public liability before they will allow you to work for them.
…Denis F