Liability for the borrowed employee

摘要

Another important decision in the law of vicarious liability has been handed down by the Court of Appeal in Viasystems (Tyneside) Limited v (1) Thermal Transfer (Northern) Limited (2) S & P Darwell Limited (3) T Hall & C Day t/a CAT Metalwork Services (10 October 2005). Unless overturned in the House of Lords, it will be a landmark decision impacting on various industries in respect of both liability and third-party insurance. This case overturned two centuries of legal precedent, which, until now has meant that only one employer could be vicariously liable for the acts of an employee, even when that employee is ostensibly working for two employers at the same time. Now, however, two judges in the Court of Appeal have held that dual vicarious liability is not a legal impossibility.