By Stephen Anderson. Last Updated 10th October 2024. Being injured at work can be frightening, humiliating and painful. The last thing you need to deal with is the threat of being sacked because of it when it wasn’t your fault. As an employee, you may be worried that your contract will be terminated after an accident in the workplace that wasn’t your fault. You might even be considering not saying anything about your injuries out of fear. If you are asking the question ‘can I be sacked for having an accident at work?’ this article can help.
We explain the law around an injury at work and how you could claim for unfair dismissal if your boss tries to sack you after an accident that was not your fault. You can reach out to our advisors if you’d like free legal advice on your options. Simply:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us via our website
- Use the ‘live support’ option below
Select A Section
- Can I Be Disciplined Or Can I Be Sacked For Having An Accident At Work?
- When Could I Make An Accident At Work Claim?
- Dismissed After An Accident At Work – What Evidence Should I Gather?
- Dismissed After An Accident At Work – Is There A Claim Time Limit?
- Types Of Accidents In The Workplace
- Accident At Work Compensation Calculator
- Make A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claim
- Can I Be Disciplined For An Accident At Work? – Read More
Can I Be Disciplined Or Can I Be Sacked For Having An Accident At Work?
If you have had to take time off work, you may be wondering, ‘Can I be disciplined, or can I be sacked for having an accident at work?’
The answer to this can be complicated. You may be dismissed after an accident at work on the grounds of negligence or misconduct if you were to blame for the accident. Similarly, you may be disciplined for having an accident at work if your misconduct caused the accident. However, if you can prove that your employer’s negligence was responsible for the accident, you could make an accident at work claim, and they could not fire you.
Per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASWA), your employer owes you a duty of care whilst at work. As part of this duty, they must do all that they reasonably can to keep you safe whilst in the workplace and performing work-related duties. This could include performing regular risk assessments and ensuring the work floor is free of any potential hazards. If your employer were to breach this duty of care, this could result in you being injured in an accident at work. If so, you could be eligible to compensation.
Contact our advisors today to learn more about accident at work claims.
When Could I Make An Accident At Work Claim?
Every employee is entitled to a written statement of the main terms of employment from their employer, but many provide a contract of employment. If you work under an employment contract, you’re seen as an employee.
In addition to outlining their duties, the contract usually describes what the employee can expect from the employer with regards to rates of pay, holiday, sickness and pensions. It may also outline terms of dismissal.
However, an employer can’t dismiss you for making an honest claim against them.
You could have grounds to make a compensation claim if:
- There is a duty of care in place
- That duty of care was breached
- You suffered injuries as a consequence
Contract details vary for different types of workers including full-time staff, contract workers and agency staff. However, regardless of which type of employment contract you have, something worth highlighting to those asking ‘can I be sacked for having an accident at work?’ is that your employer doesn’t have the legal right to do so if the accident wasn’t your fault. Even if you suffer severe injuries as a result, an employer cannot legally dismiss you for a work accident that you didn’t cause.
However, you need to be sure that the injuries were not the result of some activity that you shouldn’t have been doing. Under such circumstances, your employer may not be responsible for your injuries. Furthermore, in cases of gross misconduct, you may be liable for dismissal and have no valid claim for unfair dismissal.
Dismissed After An Accident At Work – What Evidence Should I Gather?
If you have grounds to claim for an accident that led to your dismissal, then it’s helpful to start gathering evidence for your case as soon as you can. With accident at work claims (regardless of whether you’ve been sacked from work), it’s important to acquire evidence that confirms the accident and injuries have occurred. You’ll also need evidence which shows how the faulting party was negligent. The potential evidence that may be available to gather can vary depending on where the accident at work took place and how it was reported. Possible evidence may include:
- A report of the accident in your workplace’s accident log book.
- CCTV footage or photographic evidence of the accident.
- Witness statements from any colleagues or other individuals that witnessed your work accident.
- A medical report confirming the details of your injuries.
If you hire a work accident solicitor to support you, then they should be able to advise you with gathering evidence for your case.
Dismissed After An Accident At Work – Is There A Claim Time Limit?
If you are out of action due to an injury, you may be wondering, ‘can I be sacked for being off sick?’. If you were dismissed after an accident at work, you may wish to make a claim for your injuries. However, you must start your claim within the relevant time limit.
Generally, you will have three years to start a personal injury claim. This is outlined in the Limitation Act 1980, and starts on the date that you are injured. However, this limit does have some exceptions.
For example, if the claimant is under the age of eighteen when they are injured, the limit will remain frozen until their eighteenth birthday. Then, they will have until their twenty-first to start a claim. At any point before they turn eighteen, a litigation friend can claim on their behalf.
Similarly, for those who do not have the mental capacity to claim for themselves, the time limit is frozen indefinitely, and their claim can be made by a litigation friend.
To find out how the personal injury claims time limit could affect your claim, contact our team of advisors today.
Types Of Accidents In The Workplace
Being injured in the workplace can be alarmingly easy if health and safety observance is missing or impaired. Health and safety laws are crucial for the wellbeing of everyone and the consequences of not applying them can be fatal. There are some common examples of possible injuries such as:
- Slipping on a wet, unattended surface
- Tripping down badly marked or poorly lit stairs
- Contact with heavy objects
- Malfunctioning machinery
- Lack of personal protective equipment where its necessary
- Workplace violence
Using evidence such as the accident log book at work and the RIDDOR system of reporting injuries, you could begin to build a case today. However, you’d also need to prove that your employer caused your injuries.
What Are My Rights After An Accident At Work?
If you have been injured at work due to the negligence of your employer, you have a right to make a claim for financial compensation due to your injuries. These injuries could be physical, psychological, or both.
Additionally, if your employer dismisses you due to you making a claim against them, this also could be a violation of your rights. In this circumstance, not only could you claim for personal injury compensation, but you may also be able to make a separate claim for unfair dismissal.
Accident At Work Compensation Calculator
A personal injury solicitor would approach your claim in the following way:
- Firstly, they can arrange for you to attend a medical assessment with an independent GP or specialist.
- The resulting report can be used as evidence in your claim.
- A lawyer can also use the report and a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to value your injuries.
The JCG is a publication that legal professionals use to help them value injuries. We used figures from these guidelines in our compensation table below.
| Injury | Severity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries And Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1,00,000+ |
| Brain Injury | Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Back injuries | Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 | |
| Arm injuries | Severe Injuries | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Less Severe Injury | £23,430 to £47,810 | |
| Neck injuries | Severe (iii) | £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Elbow injuries | Severely Disabling | £47,810 to £66,920 |
| Less Severe Injuries | £19,100 to £39,070 | |
| Ankle injuries | Severe | £38,210 to £61,090 |
It’s important to note that these amounts are not guaranteed. They merely represent what would be possible if your medical evidence supports it.
Special damages
General damages compensate you for the injuries you’ve suffered due to the accident that wasn’t your fault. You could also claim special damages, which compensates you for financial losses caused by your injuries.
You can use documents such as receipts, statements and bills that prove out-of-pocket costs caused by your injuries. These costs may include:
- The costs of needing care
- Loss of earnings
- Childcare costs
- Missed bonuses or pension contributions
- Travel expenses to hospital or work
- Medical equipment
Make A No Win No Fee Accident At Work Claim
In addition to questions such as “can I be sacked for having an accident at work?”, you may also be asking if you can be supported by a solicitor if you have valid grounds to claim for your work accident. Our advisors can review your potential case for free and if they find you have a strong claim, they could connect you with one of the work accident lawyers on our panel.
All of the No Win No Fee lawyers on our panel can support claimants under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Claiming for a work accident under a CFA brings the following benefits:
- You won’t have to pay your lawyer for their work either upfront or while your work accident claim is being processed.
- If your claim is not successful, then you normally don’t have to pay your solicitor for their services.
- If you succeed with your work accident claim, then your solicitor’s payment will be covered by what’s called a success fee. This involves your solicitor subtracting a small, legally capped percentage from your compensation. The legal cap is in place to make sure that you get to keep the majority of the compensation given for your case.
For more advice about claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor, contact our advisors for free today. Our team can address other related questions you may have, such as whether you can still claim if you’ve been dismissed after an accident at work. To reach our team, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us through our website
- Use our 24/7 live chat
Can I Be Disciplined For An Accident At Work? – Read More
Thank you for reading this guide. In conclusion, we can offer further help with the following guides about:
- Reporting workplace accidents
- Injuries that take place in public
- Car accidents that were not your fault
- There are also external sources that could be of use to you:
- Health and safety at work statistics
- NHS: How do you know if you’ve broken a bone?
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE) news
We also have some other guides you may find useful:
- Public accident claims hot spots
- Broken hand at work claims.
- Lost wages due to a work injury.
- Examples of a back injury at work.
- Can you claim for a fall at work in the UK?
- Assaulted at work compensation claims
- Council slip and trip accidents
- Public transport accidents
- How to make a public liability claim
- Making a claim against the council
- Claiming for a pothole injury
- Making a claim against a shop
- Accidents in a public park
- Cycling accident claims
- Claiming for injuries suffered while shopping
- Back injury claim
- Brain injury claim
- Who pays work-related injury compensation?
- What happens if you get injured at work?
- Can I claim for falling down the stairs at work?
- How to make a broken foot at work claim
- Warehouse accident claim guide and calculator
- Claim compensation for an eye injury at work
We hope this dismissed after an accident at work claims guide has been helpful. Throughout it, we’ve addressed questions such as ‘can I be sacked for having an accident at work’. However, if you would like to ask any other related questions, then you’re welcome to contact Public Interest Lawyers today.