Subcontractor damage

[Paddy1000111]

It depends on your agreement with him. As a subcontractor he is liable for damage caused by his work practices and will have insurance in place to cover damages during his work. That's just a fact of subcontracting and in reality, one of the reasons companies use subbies a lot. As far as I am aware there's no such thing as employers/company insurance that covers subcontractors of yours apart from covering from liability for example if they injure themselves on your equipment (which as a subcontractor they shouldn't be using anyway) and try to sue you.  If he IS under your insurance, using your equipment and his damage is your problem then he is an employee of yours, you should be paying him on PAYE and he will be under IR35.

[Rich Rule]

Paddy, did you read the thread?

 

The capacity in which the guy was working was Labour Only Freelance and not a Bona Fide Subcontractor.

 

So your comments about having insurance to cover damages is pretty pointless unless Bonafide.  Yes insurance for personal injury is recommended.

 

The reason so many companies use ‘Subbies’ (your term and many others in the industry) is because they don’t know the rules.  When I fact they require EL cover as technically they are employing someone for a day, week, whatever.  
 

Trust me on this, I have been there and tried to have someone claim on the pointless insurance I was carrying whilst working in the capacity described in this thread and the capacity of ‘Subbie’ (not my term) that most companies use.

 

My insurer just said ‘not covered’, end of!

 

Yet they sold it to me basis of me being a freelance /contract climber who didn’t do his own jobs.

 

So for three years I paid for a useless piece of paper and lined the pockets of the shareholders of the underwriting company and the brokers who sold it.