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Independent Contractors

All employers have a responsibility to protect their employees, contractors and visitors from accidents and injuries. The obligation to secure the safety of independent contractors is specifically expressed in Section 12 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

This means that confusion as to who is or is not an employee need not deprive an injured person from securing proper compensation when injured in a workplace.

The employers duty includes ensuring:

That the employer provide employees with the necessary machinery and tools to complete the job. Those tools and machines are to be maintained in a safe condition.

The workplace must be kept in a safe, tidy condition with floors, doors and gates clean and clear and free from hazards.

The employer is vicariously for the negligence of his/her employees, so a worker injured by the negligence of a fellow worker is entitled to compensation from the employer.

Employees working at a height are protected by S. I. No. 318/2006 – Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Work at Height) Regulations 2006.