The duty of care law in the UK reflects the statutory duties you have as an employer. All organisations must adhere to their ‘duty of care’, regardless of the type of business, be it public, private or voluntary.
For example, the law requires you to carry out a risk assessment. This will address all risks that might cause harm in your workplace. Another common law regarding duty of care to employees is consultation. Legally, you must consult employees on any health & safety risks they’ll face as part of their role. These are just some of your responsibilities from a health & safety standpoint.
If you cannot do everything that is reasonably possible to prevent an accident or work-related illness, then you are likely to be in breach of duty of care. Multiple pieces of legislation are in place that governs and enforces these legal responsibilities and employers should familiarise themselves with these.
