Can you claim against your employer without getting them in trouble?

By Chris Carter, Managing Solicitor · Carter & Carter Solicitors · March 2026

You were hurt at work. You know it wasn’t your fault. But every time you think about making a claim, the same thought stops you: I don’t want to cause trouble for my employer.

Maybe they’ve been good to you. Maybe you’ve worked there for years and you like your colleagues. Maybe you’re worried a claim will hurt the business, cost someone their job, or make things awkward when you go back.

It’s one of the most common reasons people don’t call us. And it’s based on a misunderstanding of how workplace injury claims actually work.

“After handling workplace injury claims since 2007, this is the barrier we hear most often. And the answer, once people understand it, almost always changes their mind.”

Does making a claim come directly out of your employer’s pocket?

No. This is the single most important thing to understand.

Under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, every employer in the UK is legally required to hold employers’ liability insurance. This isn’t optional — it’s a legal obligation, and a business that fails to hold it faces fines of up to £2,500 per day.

“The insurance is there for exactly this. Your employer pays for it every year — for you.”

What this means in practice is straightforward: when you make a workplace injury claim, it is the employer’s insurance company that pays your compensation — not your employer. The insurance exists precisely for this situation. Your employer has been paying premiums specifically so that if an employee is injured, there is a mechanism to compensate them.

Making a claim isn’t taking money out of the business. It’s using a legal protection that Parliament decided every worker in the country deserves.

Will your employer’s insurance premium go up because of your claim?

Possibly — but this isn’t your responsibility to carry. The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 places the obligation to insure on the employer, not the employee. You didn’t create the risk that caused your injury.

Your employer’s duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. When that duty wasn’t met and you were hurt, the insurance framework does exactly what it was designed to do. A good employer understands this.

What if you have a good relationship with your employer?

Then making a claim doesn’t have to change that. A claim is a legal process between you, your solicitor, and your employer’s insurer. It doesn’t require a confrontation. It doesn’t require you to accuse anyone of malice or bad intent.

Most workplace accidents happen because a system failed, a risk wasn’t assessed, or a procedure wasn’t followed — not because your employer wanted you to get hurt. At Carter & Carter, we handle the entire process on your behalf. We deal with the insurer directly. In the vast majority of cases, a claim is settled without a final court hearing.

What if you’re also worried about your job?

That’s a separate — and equally important — question. Dismissing or victimising an employee for making a workplace injury claim is unlawful under the Employment Rights Act 1996. It constitutes automatic unfair dismissal.

Loyalty to a good employer is admirable. But loyalty doesn’t mean accepting an injury that wasn’t your fault and receiving nothing for it. A good employer who genuinely cares about their staff would want them to be properly compensated — and their insurance is there to make that happen.

What are your rights if you make a workplace injury claim?

Just expert help — from A to B, with no noise or nonsense.

Injured at work but holding back because you don’t want to cause trouble? Speak directly with Chris or David — not a call centre, not a junior. Just expert help from A to B, with no noise or nonsense.

0800 652 0586 · No Win No Fee · Accident at work specialists since 2007