header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Third party pieces: the development of the doctrine of vicarious liability

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
09 June 2017 / Michael Salter , Chris Bryden
Issue: 7749 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail

Chris Bryden & Michael Salter examine a case which re-stated a number of important principles concerning the doctrine of vicarious liability

  • The development of the doctrine of vicarious liability is policy-based and has developed not as an organic strand of the common law, but as a pragmatic method of ensuring that in appropriate cases, deserved compensation is made available.
  • Claims involving vicarious liability will turn on their facts, and the close connection test must be examined against all of the relevant circumstances.

As the authors have written here before, employers should be aware of the risks of claims arising out of the behaviour of employees towards each other or third parties at workplace parties, even when those parties take place outside of the office and after working hours (see ‘Third party harassment’, 157 NLJ 7280, p 960). The risk of vicarious liability in tort, including under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 or claims of constructive unfair dismissal or discrimination have

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: The insider returns
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
NLJ this week: Drawing the line on contempt
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
NLJ this week: Stop and search by the numbers
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
NLJ this week: Looking back on the prorogation that never was
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
NLJ this week: How not to plead a schedule of loss
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll