I’ve worked in pubs and bars before – in the busy periods, it can be a rushed and occasionally stressful experience. There’s nothing worse than a crowded bar full of people all waiting desperately to be served their poison.
That, and the fact that places like these are often full of intoxicated people, means that there can be many hazards involved in working in this trade. So let’s take a look at some examples and the law when it comes to an employee’s rights to make a claim for personal injury compensation.
Some classic examples of workplace compensation claims for employees in the pub, club, and bar trade are:
- Slips on spillages
- Trips on stock left in walkways in busy periods
- Colleagues knocking in to each other when rushed
- Dangerous manual handling activities due to people being rushed and a common lack of adequate training in the industry. One such example could also be lifting in crouched and cramped conditions which is always very dangerous (e.g. in a cellar)
- Burns from hot drinks and hot food in kitchen areas
- Falls down open trapdoors
The same numerous workplace health and safety rules and regulations apply in pubs, clubs, and bars in the same way they apply in any other workplace. Employers must ensure that:
- The general work area is safe to navigate and ensure there are no slip, trip, or fall hazards
- Training staff in safe practice in the workplace
- Proper manual handling training and supervision, with adequate assistance provided and equipment provided where necessary
We have things like The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and The Manual Handling Operations Regulations in force to ensure that employers are liable when they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent an injury. If you are injured in any of the circumstances mentioned above, it would be worth contacting us for advice about making a claim.
Your Legal Rights to Claim
You have a right, in law, to be able to make a claim for personal injury compensation where you have been injured due to the negligence of your employer. We’re of course aware that many employment situations for people working in this industry are often very informal. Many employees do not have proper contracts, or may only have small set hours or no guaranteed hours, or are part time.
Irrelevant of all of that, you are still entitled to claim and you are still protected by law when making a claim. To be fair, we find that most employers nowadays are quite happy for employees to claim because they should have insurance to cover them for such eventualities. I took on a recent ladder accident in a pub where he was told by his employer to call an injury lawyer and make a claim, and I recall another involving a leak where the pub manager encouraged claiming as well.
You cannot be dismissed or treated any differently when making a claim, and insurers wouldn’t allow such activities to happen. Why? Because if they did, they could be facing a further claim for unfair or constructive dismissal, for example.
