Hi,
I’m hoping someone can help provide a bit of advice please in regard to employers liability insurance.
We are a workers coop that currently has 3 directors (required for our legal set up) but are not PAYE and invoice for our time. We have a number of associates who work on a project by project basis plus we run workshops with volunteers on occasion.
I was just wondering how other coops with perhaps similar set up have navigated employers liability insurance and whether they have found a policy that is a good reflection of the way they work and their set up. We have been quoted around £900 per year and again just wanted to sense check this to see if this seems reasonable. We undertake some outdoor construction work and garden based activities and workshops but mainly meet online.
Many thanks in advance for help and advice
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Good question, and will await a response from someone more knowledgeable, but as a silly question, do you actually employ anyone?
If your directors are self-emploed, and the others who work with you are also self-employed/contractors or volunteers, then no-one is employed by you and therefore no-one to put in a claim against you that this insurance would be for?
PAYE:
Unfortunately, Directors should be paid through PAYE even if non-Director Members are not.
The quick version stolen off someone else:
Section 5 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pension Act) 2003 (ITEPA 2003) lays out that work undertaken by a director in the course of their role as an office holder is classed as employment Income.
It is the view of HMRC that if the work undertaken by the individual is in the nature of the business undertaken by the company of which they are the
director then the payments are received on the basis that they hold that office. In which case this section applies.
Insurance:
It is worth bearing in mind that your co-op has a duty to a volunteer or self employed contractor, or participant in your workshops, under the Health and Safety At Work Act so you need to be insured in case something happens to them. Even if they hold their own Public LIability insurance your co-op has a responsibility if it is the organiser. Public Liability Insurance may cover those non-employees (take care to read what is and is not covered), but you may find you need employers’ insurance to cover volunteers anyway. But as you have Directors you will have de facto employees so you need mandatory Employers Insurance.
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Thank you both so much for your replies. That’s really helpful and gives us a bit of an idea going forward. Thank you again