How To Claim For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

If you worked as zero hour contract staff and had an accident at work which caused you to be injured, you may be eligible to start a workplace injury claim against your employer. This guide will aim to answer any questions you might have about making a claim.

How To Claim For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

How To Claim For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

We will explore some common workplace accidents and how much you could be eligible to claim if you make a successful claim. We will also explain the types of evidence you need to support your claim and how our solicitors could assist you in acquiring evidence.

Finally, we will discuss the benefits of No Win No Fee agreements and how working with one of our solicitors could benefit your claim.

Our expert advisors can answer any legal queries you may have. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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How To Claim For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

Zero hour contract workers have the same rights as any other employees to a safe working environment. An employer owes all their employee a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Under this act, your employer must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure safety. This could mean that they have to:

  • Ensure they address any hazards that they become aware of in the workspace.
  • Provide employees with training about health and safety in the workplace and proper PPE. 
  • Maintain equipment at work to ensure it is safe for its intended purpose.

If this duty of care is breached and you are injured as a result, this is known as negligence and might give you grounds to claim.

To claim, therefore, you must prove that your employer owed you a duty of care, that this was breached, and that this breach caused you to be physically and/or mentally harmed.

To find out more about eligibility to claim, contact one of our expert advisors using the contact details above.

Limitation Periods For Zero Hour Contract Workplace Injury Claims

Typically, you will have three years from the date you were injured in an accident at work to begin a claim against your employer.

However, there are some circumstances which affect this limitation. If you do not have the mental capacity to make your own claim, the time limit will be suspended. The courts can appoint a litigation friend to claim on your behalf. If you regain mental capacity, the three years you have to claim will begin on the day this happens.

If you are under eighteen and working as zero hour contract staff and an accident at work injures you, you can make your own claim from the day you turn eighteen, and you have three years in which to do so. A litigation friend can claim on your behalf if you wish to claim before this. These time limits are laid out in the Limitation Act 1980.

Contact one of our expert advisers using the contact details above to learn more about time limits.

What Are The Most Common Workplace Accidents?

According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive: 

  • 30% of all reported workplace injuries were slip, trip, and fall injuries
  • 18% were due to handling, lifting or carrying
  • 11% of injured workers were struck by a moving vehicle
  • 8% of injuries were caused by falls from heights

Contact a member of our team using the details above if you have any questions about how to claim for common workplace accidents.

What Evidence Do I Need For A Work Injury Claim?

Gathering evidence to support your claim is an important part of the process. You should try to collect as much evidence as you can to support the claim that your accident was caused by employer negligence.

Some steps you could make towards collecting evidence include:

  • Keeping a diary of your symptoms and the treatment you receive.
  • Requesting CCTV footage that shows the accident occurring.
  • Recording the contact details of any potential witnesses
  • Requesting copies of your medical records after you sought treatment
  • Taking photographs of your accident and the accident site.

If you are struggling to collect evidence, our solicitors have extensive experience collecting proof for personal injury claims and would be more than happy to help you. Contact our advisors today to find out if you could work with one of our solicitors.

How Much Could You Claim For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

If you are working a zero hour contract as staff and had an accident at work, you may be able to claim compensation under two heads of claim. These heads are known as special damages and general damages.

General damages compensate for the suffering and pain, both mental and/or physical, you experienced because of your injuries. The guideline compensation brackets in the table below are from the Judicial College Guidelines, a document used by solicitors alongside the results of an independent medical exam to help them value claims.

These figures are not guaranteed because of the nature of personal injury claims and the fact that they are based on individual circumstances.

Compensation table

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Injury Severity Guideline compensation bracket Notes
Hand injuries Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands £140,660 to £201,490 Both hands are rendered little more than useless.
Hand injuries Serious Damage to Both Hands £55,820 to £84,570 There will be a significant loss of function and cosmetic disability.
Leg injuries Very serious (ii) £54,830 to £87,890 Injuries which lead to permanent mobility issues and serious deformity.
Leg injuries Serious (iii) £39,200 to £54,830 These injuries will lead to instability, prolonged treatment and extensive scarring.
Knee injuries Severe (ii) £52,120 to £69,730 Leg fractures which lead to constant pain and limited movement.
Knee injuries Moderate (i) £14,840 to £26,190 There will be minor instability or another mild future disability.
Ankle injuries Severe (b) £31,310 to £50,060 These injuries call for a lengthy period in plaster or pins and plates. These will be significant residual disability.
Ankle injuries Moderate (c) £13,740 to £26,590 The claimant will experience less serious disabilities, such as trouble walking on uneven ground.
Achilles tendon Most serious (a) In the region of £38,430 Symptoms will include cramp, swelling, and restricted ankle movement.
Achilles tendon Minor (d) £7,270 to
£12,590		 The ankle turns, causing some damage to the tendon.

How Special Damages Claims Are Calculated

Special damages aim to return you to the financial state you were in before you were injured at work. The money given should compensate you for any out-of-pocket costs incurred because of your work-related injuries.

Special damages can compensate for the costs of present and future medical treatment and care. You can also be compensated for travel costs to and from hospital appointments and any current or future loss of earnings.

You will need evidence to prove that you spent this money, for example, bus tickets and receipts.

Contact one of our expert advisors to learn about which kinds of compensation could make up your final settlement if your case were successful.

Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor For A Zero Hour Contract Staff Accident At Work

Our solicitors have years of experience helping people make successful compensation claims. If you are a zero-hour worker injured at work, you might be eligible to claim compensation.

If you are eligible, our solicitors can offer you a kind of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, you generally do not have to pay for your solicitor’s services up-front, nor do you have to pay fees while your case is ongoing.

If your case doesn’t succeed, you won’t owe your solicitor anything for the work they did on your case. However, if your case succeeds, you will owe your solicitor a small, capped fee deducted from your settlement. The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 means you cannot be overcharged.

Contact Us

Our expert advisors can help you with legal queries twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

To contact them, you can:

Read More About Workplace Accident And Injury Claims

We have collected some more useful information about making a personal injury claim if you are injured at work:

More of our personal injury guides:

What Are My Rights After An Accident At Work In The UK?

I Had A Work Related Injury, Who Pays My Compensation?

Do You Have To Be An Employee To Claim For A Workplace Injury?

How To Make Part Time Staff Accident At Work Claims

How To Claim For A Sub-Contractor Accident At Work

Useful external links:

Managing risk using PPE – Using personal protective equipment (PPE) to control risks at work – HSE

When to go to A&E – NHS

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) : Eligibility – GOV.UK

If you work a zero hour contract as staff and had an accident at work where you were injured, contact one of our advisors using the contact details above.

Writer HG

Publisher NC