At work, your manager’s role is to guide you, train you, support you and, on occasion, discipline you if you don’t do things correctly. However, that doesn’t give a manager the right to assault or abuse you at work. Importantly, if you are assaulted at work by a manager, not only could they face criminal charges, but you could be compensated for any suffering that results. How you’d go about claiming compensation might not be immediately obvious so we’ve written this guide to explain your options and to show how much compensation you might receive.

We can help if you’re thinking about claiming compensation for being assaulted by a manager. Our team of friendly advisors can offer free legal advice as part of an initial consultation about your claim. If they believe you should be compensated for being assaulted, they’ll refer you to one of our personal injury solicitors. If they take your claim on, there won’t be any legal fees to pay unless you receive compensation because all cases are processed on a No Win No Fee basis.

To talk to us right away, please call us on 0800 6524 881 today. Alternatively, read on to learn more about manager assault compensation claims.

What Is Considered Assault At Work By A Manager?

Your manager may have assaulted you if you have been subjected to unwanted verbal, physical or sexual actions. Importantly, you could be compensated for the suffering caused by any of these. Below are some examples of the types of assaults that could allow you to claim:

Physical Assault

Types of physical assault by a manager in the workplace include:

• Slapping, kicking, biting or scratching.
• Punching somebody in the face causing a broken nose.
• Spitting at an employee.
• Pulling an employee’s hair.
• Attacking with a weapon.
• Setting a guard dog on an employee.

Verbal Abuse

It’s important to note that verbal abuse at work can cause both psychological injuries as well as physical symptoms. That means you could claim compensation if your manager has verbally abused you. Examples of when this might be the case include if you have been:

• Shouted at.
• Threatened verbally.
• Called names.
• Picked on because of a protected characteristic as set out by the Equality Act 2010 (race, gender, sexuality, disability etc).
• Criticised in front of others with the intent of embarrassing you.

Sexual Assault

Some of the actions that could constitute sexual assault by your manager include:

• Being forced to look at sexual images or videos.
• Unwanted kissing or sexual touching.
• Being forced to perform sexual acts to keep your job or have a promotion.
• If your manager makes sexual jokes, comments or innuendo.
• Sexual exposure.

If you have been assaulted at work by your manager and have suffered as a result, please speak to our team to see if you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Can I Claim Compensation For Being Assaulted At Work By My Manager?

In workplace assault claims, there are a number of routes you could take to claim compensation that we’ll explain shortly. In general, our personal injury solicitors could help you make a claim if:

• The defendant (your manager or your employer) owed you a duty of care; and
• Your manager assaulted you; and
• You endured physical or mental health problems as a result.

Now let’s take a look at the different types of compensation claims that might be possible.

Suing Your Employer If Your Manager Assaulted You At Work

In cases where you were assaulted at work by your manager, it might be possible to claim compensation from your employer’s liability insurance policy. That’s because they have a legal duty to try and keep all staff as safe as possible while working. Therefore, you could be eligible to claim against your employer if:

• They didn’t know about your manager’s violent history because they failed to carry out criminal record checks.
• Previous complaints or concerns about your manager by colleagues were ignored.
• You had informed the company that you were worried about your safety when working with the manager but nothing was done.

Claim Against Your Manager

You may also be able to claim compensation directly from the manager who assaulted you. Civil compensation claims can sometimes proceed if the manager has the funds to compensate you themselves or if they have some sort of legal expenses cover.

CICA Claims

The government funds a compensation scheme operated by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The fund can award damages to those injured by crimes against them.

You might decide to claim through the scheme if:

• Your actions did not lead to the assault.
• You reported the assault to the police.
• You suffered physical or mental injuries.

Something to bear in mind is that you could receive criminal injury compensation even if the manager who assaulted you was never charged by the police or found guilty in court. So long as you reported the incident and you provide as much information to the CICA assessor, your claim could still proceed.

To find out if you could sue your employer, your manager or even both parties for your suffering, please speak to one of our advisors today.

Common Injuries Caused By Assaults

Legally, anything other than the most minor injuries could be claimed for if you were assaulted at work by a manager. That means that your claim could compensate you for:

There’s no need to worry about claiming compensation for your injuries because it is against the law for your employer to pick on you in any way for doing so. Therefore, if you were disciplined, demoted, docked pay or even fired for making a workplace assault claim, additional damages could be sought in an unfair or constructive dismissal claim.

How Much Compensation For Being Assaulted At Work By Manager?

Your compensation claim should consider any suffering caused by the assault by your manager plus any costs you’ve incurred as a result. Therefore, if your claim is successful, it could cover:

To try and help you secure the maximum compensation possible for your suffering, your solicitor will discuss your claim with you in full detail to fully understand how you’ve been affected by the assault against you.

Compensation Calculator

The compensation awarded for your injuries is based primarily on how severe they are. Therefore, during the claims process, you’ll need a medical assessment. Usually, your solicitor will book a local appointment with an independent medical specialist. They’ll read your medical records, examine you and find out from you how you’ve suffered.

The report from the medical assessment will form the grounds for your compensation claim. As a result, we can’t offer a personalised compensation estimate until your claim has been reviewed properly. However, please use our compensation calculator to see some potential payout amounts.

Evidence To Prove A Manager At Work Assaulted You

The types of evidence that insurers or the CICA might request to prove how you suffered an assault at work by a manager include:

• A personal statement from you about what happened.
• Details of your injuries backed up by medical reports from your GP or the hospital who treated you.
• Security camera footage if the assault was caught on your employer’s CCTV system.
• Any emails, text messages or other forms of correspondence with your employer about the incident.
• Witness statements from colleagues who saw what happened or to confirm your working conditions.
• Reports from the police officer who investigated the complaint against your manager.

How Long Do I Have To Claim Compensation?

If you want to seek compensation for the suffering you’ve endured, you must apply within the relevant time limit. This varies depending on the nature of your claim. You’ll have:

• 3 years from the date of your assault to make a personal injury claim.
• 2 years from the date you reported the crime to the police for CICA claims.

Ideally, it’s best to start your claim as soon as you can to allow enough time to arrange for medical reports and to collect supporting evidence.

Starting A Claim For Being Assaulted At Work By A Manager

If you believe you should be compensated after being assaulted by your manager, call our team on 0800 6524 881 to see if you can start the claims process. During your call, they’ll review your claim and offer free legal advice.

Should one of our specialist solicitors agree to work on your case, you won’t have to pay any legal fees unless you are awarded compensation which should make your claim much less stressful.

Please speak to one of our live chat advisors if you’ve been assaulted at work by a manager and need further free advice.