Compare Employers’ Liability and Public Liability Insurance

Public And Employers’ Liability Insurance

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Who needs to be covered by law

The law covers people you employ under a contract of service or an apprenticeship. What you call them, or how they pay tax, doesn’t decide it (HSE).

What counts is the real working relationship. Someone may need to be covered if:

• you deduct tax and National Insurance from their pay
• you control where, when and how they work
• you supply their materials and equipment
• they can’t send a substitute in their place
• they do the same work, on the same terms, as your other staff

Subcontractors and volunteers

A subcontractor who works for other clients, brings their own equipment and can send a substitute may not need cover. Being self-employed for tax doesn’t settle it, though (HSE).

Volunteers, unpaid students and pupils on work experience are usually covered by your existing policy (HSE). Tell your insurer if they stay for long periods or do work outside your usual business.

Who is exempt

As well as the family business exemption above, you don’t need this cover if:

• your company’s only employee is you, the owner, with 50% or more of the issued share capital (HSE)
• everyone you employ is normally based outside Great Britain (GOV.UK), though anyone who spends more than 14 days in a row here still needs cover (HSE)

The 1969 Act covers employers in Great Britain (legislation.gov.uk). Northern Ireland has separate rules, covered in the FAQs below (HSENI).

How much cover the law requires

The legal minimum is £5 million (GOV.UK). In Great Britain, Regulation 3 says that figure applies to any one occurrence and includes the costs and expenses of a claim (legislation.gov.uk).

If your business is part of a group, one policy can cover the whole group, but the group as a whole still needs at least £5 million (HSE).

Many policies go higher. HSENI, the Northern Ireland regulator, says many insurance companies would give a minimum of £10 million (HSENI). If a client contract names a higher limit, your policy needs to meet it.

Your employers’ liability certificate

Your insurer gives you a certificate each time you take out or renew a policy (HSE). GOV.UK says you must display it where employees can access it, such as at your workplace, on your website or on your intranet.

You must also show it to inspectors when they ask. If you don’t display it or don’t show it to inspectors, you could be fined £1,000 (GOV.UK).

Keeping old certificates and records

You no longer have to keep expired certificates, but HSE strongly advises keeping as full a record of your cover as you can (HSE). Some diseases can appear decades after exposure, and a former employee could then claim for the years they worked for you.

“Keep every certificate and policy schedule, even after you switch insurer. If a former employee claims years later, those papers show who covered you at the time,” says Lee Evans, Quotezone’s Business & Leisure Insurance Expert.

What this cover doesn’t include

Employers’ liability helps pay compensation when an employee is hurt or falls ill because of their work for you (GOV.UK). Policies vary, but it won’t usually cover:

• claims from customers, visitors or other businesses, which public liability deals with (HSE)
• staff hurt in road accidents while working, which your motor insurance may cover instead (HSE)
• claims that your work or services cost a client money, a professional indemnity risk (business.gov.uk)
• damage to your own premises, equipment or stock, which business.gov.uk lists under separate buildings and equipment insurance

If you use vehicles for the business, motor insurance is a legal requirement in its own right (business.gov.uk). Our guide explains how public liability works.

Comparing quotes on Quotezone

Comparing takes one short form. Have these details to hand:

• what your business does
• how many people work for you, and in what roles
• your yearly turnover
• any claims in recent years
• any limit a client contract asks for

Step 1. Fill in the form with details of your business and the kind of cover you need.

Step 2. Quotezone’s panel providers may then be in touch with quotes.

Step 3. Weigh up the price alongside the limit, the excess and what’s excluded. Check the insurer is authorised too (GOV.UK explains how).

If you work in a trade, see our tradesman insurance quotes. Our business insurance page compares wider packages.

Start your employers’ liability quote

You might also need

If customers or visitors come to your premises, or you work on clients’ sites, public liability cover can help with claims from them. If a client could say your work cost them money, look at professional indemnity insurance (business.gov.uk).

Reviewed by: Lee Evans
Business & Leisure Insurance Expert

Written by: Katie Gawley
Insurance Content Writer

Fact-checked by: Quotezone Editorial Team

This content follows our Editorial Guidelines

Last Updated: 5 November 2026