It is the rainy season, and the garden is thriving. It would be handy to get someone to help, right? What about the kid next door or some handy who is looking for a job? Or, just put an ad on gumtree to see if anyone who can help at lower price. All the above are good idea, but there is only one problem. Insurance.
When home owners hire an established business for domestic work, it is very probable that the business will have all the required insurance to performance the job – these include but not limited to workers compensation insurance, public liability insurance and other professional indemnity insurance. If the home owner hires someone privately, this may not be the case. For a small gardening job, the chance of work accident injury is small, but there is a realistic probability that an accident may happen depending on multiple factors on the day and the job requirements.
Christian Foyle, one of the leading WorkCover lawyers in Western Australia recently conducted a random survey of a few home owners on the topic of domestic insurance for private household works. It is no surprise that many people have little idea of it. The private household employer workers compensation insurance is a type of indemnity insurance, by law, a compulsory insurance required by any person or company employing workers as defined in the Workers Compensation and Injury management Act 1981 (“Act”).
The employer’s indemnity insurance for a private household employer is for private households who employ workers to perform domestic and home help duties such as:
- cleaning or gardening; or
- carers for the elderly or disabled.
The policy provides indemnity for your legal liability under the Act to make any payment in respect of an injury suffered by any of your workers and includes indemnity for your Common Law Liability to those workers.
When the economic conditions are tough, every cent of savings counts. Although their cheaper options for domestic work, it is to be mindful that accidents do happen and sometimes are not expected. When hiring for domestic duties, it is important to ensure the workers you are about to hire carry the correct insurance cover for the job.
The costs for obtaining works compensation insurance as a private household employer is very affordable, and most of the WorkCover approved insurers offers great insurance products. To start a policy, it is a matter of giving the insurer a call, and the policy can be organised within hours. For private household employers, it is a peace of mind option at affordable cost.
The workers compensation law is complex, and it is a no-fault system in Western Australia. To fight against the workers compensation claim takes time, energy, and costs money. For a small price paid to the insurer, it will help the private employer a great deal down the track if unfortunate work accident occurs.
Before you hire for the next private household job, please ensure that you are fully covered in the event of accident injuries!