Employee causes damage: who pays for it?🤔

An employer can show trust in staff in many ways, this can be through the provision of a lease car or a laptop for example. But what if this trust is betrayed?

This was precisely what recently played out in a case at the Central Netherlands court. A temporary worker was given a lease car by the company where he worked, which he was also allowed to use privately. During working hours, however, he was involved in a traffic accident. Annoying in itself, but there was more to it here: he was on a driving ban at the time. As a result, the damages (€ 16,000,00+) were not insured.

This meant that the company itself paid for the damage. Naturally, they were not happy about this and therefore tried to recover the damages from the temporary worker himself. The latter thought this was unjustified. According to him, the employment agency, his formal employer, should then pay the damages. However, the court thought otherwise. It ruled that the case involved deliberately reckless behaviour. And in that case, an employee can be held personally liable for the damage caused.

Why is this interesting?

This ruling essentially deals with a broader issue than just an employee causing a traffic accident. It touches on the question: when is an employee personally liable for damage he or she causes while at work? The answer is that, in principle, employees are not personally liable for damage caused. But in cases of intent or conscious recklessness, as the court found present here, it is different. Then an employee can be held personally liable. And whether the person works through an employment agency or not need not make any difference in such a case.

Three lessons for business owners

1.    Trust is fine - but control is (sometimes) better
Are you giving someone a car, laptop or other valuable items? Then make sure you know who you are dealing with. Check for instance whether someone has a valid driving licence and whether there have been previous incidents. Prevention really is better than cure.

2.    Hiring? Still your responsibility
Even if you work with temporary workers, you may be liable for what happens. Make sure you have clear agreements with the agency and the temporary workers and take a critical look at your insurance policies.

3.    Reckless behaviour? Then you may intervene
If an employee consciously behaves irresponsibly, such as driving while disqualified, you as an employer do not have to stand idly by. So in such cases, it may be possible to recover damages from the employee personally, even if the employee is a temporary worker. 

Questions about the provision of lease cars, other company assets or damage caused by workers? If so, please contact Dennis Oud, Tim van Riel, Elke Hofman-Bijvank, or Tessa Sipkema.