Slip Sliding Away

The extremely tough weather conditions currently experienced throughout the UK have brought many complaints of a lack of gritting on roads and paths. Many have accused local councils of failing to grit roads altogether, but is this due to a lack of grit or actually a legal necessity? (David Bywater reports). A steady increase in personal injury claims over the past decade means that the gritting process is now a legal minefield, and councils often find that it is more detrimental for them to grit the roads than leave them as they are. The councils owe a duty as an employer to several thousand employees under a number of regulations, but the duties owed to a far greater number of people, namely the public, is governed by other duties which are actually lower than those owed to employees, so by not gritting, councils may actually minimise the risk of litigation brought against them. As an example, one council was advised that it would not be covered by its insurers if its' employees suffered accidents whilst spreading grit or salt. The suggestion was to only use a mechanical gritter, which may explain why many councils now only spread salt on roads, with councils stating that they do not have machines to grit pavements, yet should an employee slip on a pavement whilst gritting, their claim for compensation is very likely to be successful. (david.bywater@weightmans.com)