Could an employee or employer be penalised twice for the same conduct?
For example, is it possible for an employer to avoid vicarious liability if it can demonstrate that either an employee was not negligent in that the employee was reasonably careful, or, that the employee was acting in her/his own right rather than in fulfilling her/his employer’s duty of care? The common law concept of vicarious liability should not be confused with the employer’s general duty of care to its employees. At common law, an employer is vicariously liable for the negligent acts or omissions of an employee where the act or omission is within the scope of the employment. Such a concept comes into play when a third party seeks to sue the employer for the actions or omissions of an employee of that employer. The OHS general duty of care has nothing to do with vicarious liability. Under the OHS (CE) Act 1991, and also at common law, an employer owes its employees a non-delegable duty to take reasonable care for the safety of the appliances, the premises and the system of work pr
