What if I injure my back and lose my job?

You may be able to take legal action against your employer. Your employer has a legal duty under the The Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA) 1974 to provide you with safe working conditions, and a common law duty of care towards you.

Your legal rights depend on how long you worked for your employer before the date of dismissal, and how serious your back injury is:

• If you worked for less than a year, then you cannot claim unfair dismissal, except in certain specific circumstances, such as if you are sacked for being pregnant.
• If you have worked for more than a year and your employer dismisses you for no good reason, or without following proper procedures, then you may have a case. You can find out more about unfair and wrongful dismissal in the employment rights section.
• In some circumstances people have won cases for constructive dismissal when they have had no alternative but to walk out of a job – ie their employer was, by persistently and dangerously failing to safeguard their health and safety, in fundamental breach of the employment contract.
• But while winning a claim for unfair or wrongful dismissal will depend on a number of factors, you should be able to make a personal injury claim for damages, covering pain and suffering and loss of earnings, if your employer has been negligent – ie not taking steps to provide safe working conditions, reasonably foreseeably leading to you suffering an injury. See our personal injury claim section for more information.
• Regardless of how long you worked for your employer, if you suffer serious injury, then you may also be able to make a claim for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. This prohibits unlawful discrimination against a disabled person in employment. Depending on the severity of your injury, your employer may have had a duty to make 'reasonable adjustments' to allow you to continue working, or return to work in alternative duties. There is more about this in the employment rights section.