Amendments to the Employers Liability Insurance Regulations come into Force

As of today, (1st October 2008) there has been a change to the legislation concerning the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998. Under the old legislation companies had to display at least one copy of their employers liability insurance certificate at each place business (usually in communal areas such as the kitchen).

The new legislation means that employers can keep these certificates in electronic format as long as it is readily accessible to all employees. In addition to this change, employers will no longer have to keep copies of their insurance certificates for 40 years.

The removal of the 40 year certificate retention requirement could be a potential problem for some companies as employers liability insurance claims can take decades to come to fruition and if a company no longer has these records could be found liable for the claim damages.

The changes come as part of a drive by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to reduce companies’ administrative costs by 25%.