If an employer fails to provide necessary training, work breaks, and safety equipment, he or she will be held liable for negligence in court. Staff can file an inadequate training injury claim against the employer to seek the financial relief needed for their injuries.
Whilst legal claims have historically been largely associated with physical injuries, such as falls, skin burns and back injuries, the lock down and current market conditions have caused many changes to how white collar employees work and in many cases, the psychological and practical support they receive has been reduced.
With remote working established as ‘the new normal’ many staff have experienced limited input from their companies. IT support is variable. Managers and team leaders are not so accessible. Conversations with peers and colleagues don’t occur with the same regularity. Staff who deal with challenging customer situations may be left to deal with the aftermath of threatening behaviour or abuse.
Responsible employers recognise that they have a duty of care for their staff and have assessed the risks of remote working, ensuring staff are set up properly. This includes promoting individual and corporate wellbeing, reducing operational costs, identifying and managing risks, providing required training and complementing HR and HSE.
Unfortunately, some have not. The HR review states that ‘over a third of employers fail to provide training to advance employees careers. (If you would like to expand on this topic please see the following article – “Third of workers are not receiving training to support their career progression”)
Many organisations are also failing to provide basic safety training.
It’s understandable to avoid capital wastage but penny pinching on employee support and training spend is a false economy and may leave the company exposed to negligence claims in court. Employees can file an inadequate training injury claim against their employer and seek financial relief needed for their injuries. (You might find the following article from CESI helpful – “I Did Not Receive Training and as a Result Had an Accident at Work Can I Claim?” )
Inadequate training may include a range of negligent behaviours on behalf of the employer, such as:
- Not educating employees on job demands
- Failure to provide proper safety equipment
- Inadequate supervision
- Lack of information on safety codes
- Lack of thorough risk information
- Inadequate record-keeping related to training
Dancing lion, in conjunction with our partners, Snapshotz, can assist your company to assess your current remote work environment and provide benchmarks against best practice. We can help you and your team stay safe and healthy both mentally and physically while keeping productive. Contact dancing lion to learn more.
