Under UK law, you cannot be dismissed from a job following an accident at work that left you injured and you decided to file a compensation claim against your employer. If an employer decides to fire you without good reason, it could be seen as an “unfair dismissal” and you could be entitled to file not only a claim for compensation for a work-related injury but for unfair dismissal too. If you would like to find out more, please read on.
What To Do Following an Accident in the Workplace
Accidents at work should be reported in an accident report book and employers must be informed of the incident as soon as possible. If the business or company does not have an “accident report book”, you should note down the details of the incident, when it occurred with a record of your injuries and send it by registered post to your boss making sure you retain a copy for your own records. Should your injuries prevent you from reporting an accident, you should request that someone else does this for you on your behalf. It is crucial that a record of an incident is made which would be needed when you sue an employer for a work-related injury and unfair dismissal if they decided to fire you because of the accident.
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A fast way you could get free legal advice from a accident at work lawyer in the UK is to talk through free online chat from LegalExpert.co.uk website or call the free phone number on the website https://www.legalexpert.co.uk/accident-at-work-claims/faqs/dismissed-after-an-accident-at-work-can-i-claim-compensation/ the live chat is free and instant and open 7 days per week.
Employee Injury At Work Advice
Other Steps to Take Following a Work-related Accident
- You should always seek medical attention following an accident at work even if you think your injury is not that serious. The reason being that you would then have an official record of how you sustained your injury which you would need when filing a claim against your employer and if you intend on claiming benefits you may be entitled to receive. If there is no official report of your accident, it could lead to an employer deciding not to accept your version of events
- You may also need to contact the Health and Safety Executive and/or your trade union if you believe that the workplace is unsafe. You have every right to refuse to work in an unsafe working environment and should only return to work when it is safe to do so
It is worth noting that your employer has no obligation to pay you while you are not at work, although many companies and businesses in the UK do have insurance to cover employees’ wages when they are off sick – but employers in the UK are not obliged to do this. If you have been dismissed following an accident at work, you should seek legal advice on both an unfair dismissal claim and a work-related compensation claim more especially as both processes can be complex and sometimes long-drawn out affairs that need to be presented correctly right from the start.
Things to Avoid If You are Dismissed Following a Work-related Accident
There are certain things you must avoid doing should you have been dismissed following a work-related accident which are detailed below:
- You should never sign anything that admits your liability as this could mean you would be held responsible for the accident. Some employers put pressure on employees following an accident in the workplace and if anyone refuses to sign a statement, they feel they may put their jobs in jeopardy. With this said, a tribunal or court may not accept a signed statement as an admission of your liability and could well disregard it at a hearing
Most employers avoid firing employees from their jobs following an accident in the workplace because it puts them in a difficult situation should there be no “good” reason for doing so. Should there be good “reasons” for your dismissal, other factors come into play which includes your length of service with the company, whether you were given correct warnings along with your rights as an employee of the business all of which would be taken into account when investigating your claim for unfair dismissal following a work-related accident.
Getting Legal Advice if You are Dismissed Following a Work-related Accident
As previously mentioned, work-related personal injury claims and “unfair dismissal” claims tend to be complex and because of the 3 year time limit associated with both, it is best to seek legal advice before commencing any sort of case against your employer. The reason being that it is essential that you get things right from the word go to avoid running foil of the time limit.
You can contact Citizens Advice for more support if you have been dismissed from work following an accident and you can also work with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis which takes all the financial pressure of paying for legal representation off the table. When you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement, you would have agreed to pay the solicitor’s firm that represents you a percentage of the money you are awarded but if your claims are unsuccessful, there would be nothing to pay all.