Liability of employee surveyor to solicitor
If you are being interviewed for a responsible position with a professional firm you will not be inclined (unless banging on about nettle grasping) to rush into a discussion about what happens in the event of your professional negligence. However, once the job is in the bag, further silence on the matter becomes inexcusable. The reason lies in the highly inconvenient, although legally impeccable, decision of the Court of Appeal in Merrett v Babb [2001] EWCA Civ 214; [2001] EGCS 24, holding that the aggrieved client can bring an action against the advising employee notwithstanding that the employer (now insolvent) was uninsured at the material time.
Now that the House of Lords had dismissed a petition to appeal further (July 2001), it surely has to be up to the professional institutions to find a workable solution. The indispensable elements appear to be:
1. a stringent rule of professional conduct requiring the employer to obtain his (compulsory) insurance on terms that vulnerable employees (suitably defined) shall be beneficiaries under the policy, and shall remain so unless and until personally notified by the insurer that the policy is no longer in force; and
2.  the provision by the professional institution of stand-by cover to be called upon in the event (hopefully rare) of the conduct rule not being complied with.
Related item:
Liability of employee surveyor to solicitor
If you are being interviewed for a responsible position with a professional firm you will not be inclined (unless banging on about nettle grasping) to rush into a discussion about what happens in the event of your professional negligence. However, once the job is in the bag, further silence on the matter becomes inexcusable. The reason lies in the highly inconvenient, although legally impeccable, decision of the Court of Appeal in Merrett v Babb [2001] EWCA Civ 214; [2001] EGCS 24, holding that the aggrieved client can bring an action against the advising employee notwithstanding that the employer (now insolvent) was uninsured at the material time.
Now that the House of Lords had dismissed a petition to appeal further (July 2001), it surely has to be up to the professional institutions to find a workable solution. The indispensable elements appear to be:
1. a stringent rule of professional conduct requiring the employer to obtain his (compulsory) insurance on terms that vulnerable employees (suitably defined) shall be beneficiaries under the policy, and shall remain so unless and until personally notified by the insurer that the policy is no longer in force; and
2.  the provision by the professional institution of stand-by cover to be called upon in the event (hopefully rare) of the conduct rule not being complied with.
Related item:
Nowhere to run to Estates Gazette 31 March 2001, p147.
