Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Duty of care definition

What does Duty of care mean? In practice, a duty of care is the legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid causing foreseeable harm to another person in the circumstances of the case. It is principally a case law concept in negligence (tort) and delict, though specific statutes (for example, occupiers’ liability and health and safety legislation) impose particular duties in defined settings. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, courts typically consider whether harm was reasonably foreseeable, the parties were in a relationship of proximity, and whether it is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty (Caparo). Limits frequently arise for omissions, public authorities...

Employer’s common law duty of care: safe premises, equipment, systems and staff; negligence claims after ERRA 2013 s69 and the evidential role of health and safety regulations

Published by a LexisNexis PI & Clinical Negligence expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out the extent and content of an employer’s common law obligation to exercise reasonable care for employees’ safety, with particular regard to providing safe premises, plant and equipment, systems of work and competent staff. It also considers the effect of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013), namely the removal of civil liability for breach of most workplace health and safety regulations unless the specific regulation expressly provides for it. In practical terms, claims will generally have to be advanced in negligence. To succeed, therefore, the injured employee must prove that the harm was reasonably foreseeable and that the applicable common law standard of care was breached.

Overriding duties

At common law, an employer owes a duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of its employees in all the circumstances of the case, so that they are not exposed to unnecessary risk of injury. That duty of care is not confined to the body: it also extends to an employee’s mental as well as physical health...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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