Legal Updates

When employing minors employers have a strict duty to take reasonable measures to protect the employee from harm

February 10, 2021
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A minor, employed at a store, was injured when asked to remove and throw a large glass sheet which broke and caused a serious injury to his leg that led to a disability that remained with the minor throughout his life.
The Court held that an employer has a duty to protect the employee from risks and therefore must pay compensation to the minor. The law states that the employer has a duty to take reasonable measures to protect the employee from risks in the workplace or in the work process. This is an actual obligation, under which the employer must warn the employee about the risks, instruct him as much as possible, supervise the execution of dangerous operations, provide the employee with appropriate protective equipment and act actively to prevent the realization of risks in the workplace. To determine whether a particular case falls within the scope of a work accident, it must be examined whether the employer had the ability to anticipate the risk in advance and knowingly ignored it or neglected to comply with the duty of care imposed on him and whether the employee acted unreasonably to the extent that the employer could not anticipate the risk. When it comes to employing minors, the law imposes an increased duty of care on the employer and prohibits the employment of minors in dangerous jobs. Here, the weight of the glass sheet that the boy was required to lift exceeded the permissible limits set by law for the employment of minors and the employer did not provide the boy with appropriate training or protective equipment to protect him from the risk involved. In addition, the employer did not supervise the employee while performing the task or warned him about the risks involved, and the employee did not perform any unreasonable action that made the risk one that is the personal responsibility of the employee. Therefore, the employer is to pay the employee compensation for the injury caused to him.