The Supreme Court has extended the scope of vicarious liability, holding that Morrisons supermarket chain was liable when one of its petrol pump attendants assaulted a customer.
Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets [2016] UKSC 11 concerned a brutal attack by the petrol pump attendant, Amjid Khan, on Ahmed Mohamud, who was on his way to a demonstration against the war in Somalia and asked Khan if he would print out a document as a favour. Khan was then abusive, made racist comments, followed Mohamud out to his car and punched and kicked him while he lay curled on the petrol station forecourt. Morrisons, which had offered to settle the case, agreed to pay damages.
Karen Plumbley-Jones, employment lawyer at Bond Dickinson, says: “Previously, employers in a similar case would be able to argue that the employee was ‘on a frolic of his own’, meaning that they were not liable for a rogue employee's actions.
“This decision means that retailers are more likely to be held liable for such assaults in the future and may face an increase in claims from customers.
“While employers don’t need to make changes to employment contracts, they can give themselves further protection by ensuring staff are given training and are clear what to do if they encounter a difficult customer. We would also recommend that they investigate a job applicant's background and take up references before employing them, in order to try to reduce the risks of such an event occurring. All these efforts could potentially act in mitigation should an incident occur and go to court.
Plumbley-Jones also recommended that employers check their insurance policies to see whether deliberate acts are excluded from the scope of their public liability insurance.
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