All employers have a duty of care to provide employees with a safe place and system of work, together with safe plant and equipment.

There are also regulations affecting the workplace, which deal with risk assessments, the workplace, work equipment, manual handling, personal protective equipment and use of display screen equipment. Other regulations govern work at height, obliging an employer to ensure that work at height is properly planned, supervised and carried out in a safe manner.

This duty of care and the regulations mean that if you are injured at work you may be able to claim compensation.

There are also particular regulations covering accidents which involve construction or building sites, where there may be more than one defendant who is liable - for example the main contractor, sub contractors and actual employer.

It is the employer's duty  to ensure the employee has a safe working environment and safe working practices - even if you have been trained, the employer may still be at fault for not providing proper training. 

All employers must have compulsory insurance specifically to ensure that if you are injured at work then there is an insurer from whom you can claim compensation.