Employers’ liability insurance for subcontractors and other workers

Invoicing, paying their own tax or signing a subcontract does not individually determine the insurance position. Describe both the agreement and how the work is performed.

For Great Britain, HSE’s employer guide explains why the real relationship matters and identifies factors to consider. Northern Ireland has a separate framework; use HSENI’s insurance guidance for the relevant starting point rather than treating the Great Britain guide as Northern Ireland law.

Legal obligations and policy definitions are different checks

Establish the applicable compulsory-insurance requirement separately from the policy’s definitions and acceptance. An insurer’s category is not a legal determination, and a legal label does not prove that every policy condition is satisfied.

Use the legally required business insurance guide for the wider obligation and exemption checks. If the relationship remains uncertain, seek appropriate clarification before relying on assumed cover.

Describe the practical facts to the provider and, where needed, an appropriate legal adviser. The table is a discussion aid, not an exhaustive statutory test or a way to score someone’s status.

Area	Facts to describe
Direction and supervision	Who decides what is done and how the work is performed?
Equipment and materials	Who supplies, maintains and controls the relevant tools and materials?
Personal service and substitution	Can someone else do the work, and does that happen in practice?
Responsibility	Who takes responsibility for delivery and putting the work right?
Contract and practice	What was agreed, and does day-to-day working match it?
Businesses involved	Who hires or employs each person, and which businesses are involved?
Work and locations	Actual tasks, hazards, premises and relevant territories.
Insurance	What each party holds and what the documents establish.

Tools, substitution or insurance do not decide the position alone. The insurer may also ask for payment figures in specified categories; this table is not a calculation or legal test.

Someone working under your business’s direction may be described as a labour-only subcontractor. An independent firm taking responsibility for an agreed job may be described as a bona fide subcontractor. These insurance labels and their definitions vary; they are not definitive legal classifications.

Description	Arrangement to discuss	Main insurance checks
Labour-only	Help working under your direction.	Who the policy includes, activities, employers’ liability position and information to provide.
Bona fide	Independent firm responsible for an agreed job.	Independence, contracts, own insurance and liability your business may still have.

Neither label alone decides legal status or cover. The examples below illustrate questions, not worker classifications or claim outcomes.

Example: a helper working under your direction

A helper joins your work, follows your daily instructions and uses your equipment. Describe the full arrangement, including substitution and responsibility for putting work right. Ask how the policy treats the helper and what information it needs.

Example: a specialist firm delivering a package

A specialist firm takes responsibility for an agreed job, plans its work and uses its own staff and equipment. Describe the full arrangement, including contracts and insurance evidence. Ask how the policy treats the firm and what liability your business may still have.

Read labour-only vs bona fide subcontractors for the detailed comparison and insurance checks.

Explain who supplies the worker, who directs their tasks, where they work and what each organisation has agreed to do. Short duration or agency supply does not settle obligations or cover.

Check policy definitions of workers, any terms for people supplied by another organisation and the information required. Examine the agency’s insurance separately from the responsibilities of your business, where the person is working.

Example: a short-term agency placement

An agency worker attends for a week and is supervised on site. Ask which policy covers the arrangement and what confirmation is needed. The one-week duration does not decide the position.

Training and lack of pay do not remove the need to examine the actual arrangement. Identify the people, duties and responsible entities before assuming a category applies.

Apprentices

Prepare:

• the business taking on the apprentice;
• the apprenticeship arrangement;
• actual duties;
• relevant age or specialist-work details.

Confirm responsibilities with the training provider and insurer, including how the policy treats the apprentice.

In Great Britain, the statutory definition of an employee for compulsory employers’ liability insurance includes an individual working under a contract of service or apprenticeship. Check the applicable requirement and any exemption, as well as how the policy accepts the arrangement. Northern Ireland has a separate framework; obtain appropriate advice if the legal position is uncertain.

Volunteers and unpaid help

Ask whether the wording accepts the people and their duties. HSE’s volunteer guidance tells employers to check that volunteers are covered by their insurance. That does not establish that every unpaid person legally requires employers’ liability insurance or that every policy includes volunteers automatically.

Describe work-experience placements and family help too. Clarify responsibilities with the school or organiser, family member and insurer as relevant. Insurance does not replace safety duties.

A subcontractor’s policy does not automatically insure your business or remove your responsibilities. Check the documents and contract for:

• the business insured and policy dates;
• cover type, activities and limits;
• any conditions requiring you to check subcontractors’ insurance.

The certificate guide explains evidence checks; a certificate is not the complete policy.

Employers’ liability concerns relevant employee injury or illness liability. Public liability insurance may concern third-party injury or property damage, while advice or design can raise professional indemnity insurance questions. A worker causing customer damage does not by itself make it an employee-injury claim.

Ask the provider specifically about faulty work, customer damage, professional advice or hired staff where relevant. Holding one type of insurance does not establish cover for all these responsibilities.

Use this preparation checklist to record facts and questions for the provider. It does not decide status or cover.

Group	Check	What to prepare
Business and people	Business insured	Correct business and other businesses using the people.
Business and people	Workers and arrangements	Numbers, types and actual hiring or engagement arrangements.
Work and responsibilities	Tasks and sites	Duties, locations, duration, start dates and specialist work.
Work and responsibilities	Supervision and equipment	Direction, methods, tools and materials in practice.
Work and responsibilities	Contracts	Delivery, substitution, putting work right, agency and subcontract agreements.
Figures and evidence	Pay figures	Workforce pay figure (wage roll) and subcontractor payments in requested categories and periods.
Figures and evidence	Insurance evidence	Relevant subcontractor documents and policy checking conditions.
Confirmation	Policy terms	People and activities included, cover, exclusions and amendments.
Confirmation	Changes	How and when updates are required.
Confirmation	Provider confirmation	Agreed terms, effective date, outstanding conditions and updated documents.

Describe payments and arrangements accurately; do not change labels or split payments to obtain a lower price. Ask which figures, categories and periods the provider requires rather than assuming a universal wage-roll definition. The employers’ liability cost guide covers price questions.

When arranging business insurance, you have a duty of fair presentation. It can require more than answering application questions. Disclose material information your business knows or ought to know. Ask the insurer or broker if unsure what to provide.

You could ask:

We plan to engage [arrangement] for [work]. In practice, [describe supervision, equipment and responsibility]. How does the policy treat these workers? What information do you need? Which restrictions apply? Do the documents need changing?

A question, quote or receipt acknowledgement does not confirm an agreed policy change. Confirm the terms, effective date and outstanding conditions with the authorised provider, and obtain updated documents. A general explanation is not necessarily an agreement to amend cover.

If a summary is silent, record “not stated; ask” rather than assuming acceptance or exclusion. Keep unresolved questions and the written answer.

Use the provider’s approved channel and share only information needed for the question. Clearcut does not assess individual worker status or cover.

Check workforce changes during the policy period; renewal is not the only review point. New people, tasks, businesses, locations or subcontracting practices can affect the information you must provide and whether changed work is covered. Follow the policy’s change-notification terms and provider process.

For example, replacing occasional individual help with a specialist firm doing different tasks changes the facts to explain. Describe the new tasks and organisation to the provider. Use the business changes guide and renewal guide for those processes.

Reporting deadlines and the effects of errors depend on the actual terms and applicable rules. Confirm the effective date of any agreed change; a request alone does not establish it.

For an actual incident or complaint, promptly use the policy’s claims contact and applicable claims process. For a cover change, use the provider’s policy-change contact. A change request or quote is not claim notification.