Employer Fined for Not Obtaining Insurance
Owner of a store in Melbourn, Dipak Kumar Kantial Solanki had to pay the fine of £1,000 for his failure to produce a current Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) certificate. Under the Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969, any employer who is asked by HSE to produce the certificate has to do it immediately. In April this year, Mr Solanki was asked to produce the certificate during an inspection by an Environmental Health Officer from South Cambridgeshire District Council.
When he was not able to present the certificate, the matter was brought to the notice of the HSE, which issued an Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance notice, asking him to present the certificate to HSE. However, Mr Solanki failed to produce the certificate even then, and thus HSE prosecuted him before Cambridge Magistrates’ Court for two breaches of Section 1(1) of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
Mr Solanki pleaded guilty and not only agreed to pay a fine of £500 for each breach but also to pay costs of suit which amounted to approximately £540.
In light of this case, Andrew Saunders from HSE warned all employers to undertake employees’ insurance as soon as possible. If the employer does not obtain an insurance cover, the workers suffer a lot during sickness or accidents, as they have no way to support themselves. Thus HSE is taking special note of this problem and any employer failing to obtain insurance will have to pay fine in the same manner as in the present case.
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