The duty of care owed to workers working alone: Lusk v Sapwell [2011] QCA 59

In September 2010 the Supreme Court awarded an employee $387,633.82 in damages for injuries sustained in a workplace incident. The employee was working alone in the retail shop and was assaulted. The trial judge found that the employer had breached its duty of care to the employee by, “failing to install a ‘mechanism’ to exclude others from a work space not visible to the general public” (at [15]). On appeal the trial judge’s finding on negligence were reversed with the Court of Appeal determining that there had been no breach of duty on the part of the employer. The reasoning of the Court of Appeal was not disturbed by the High Court of Australia in an application for special leave. This section note examines the various courts statements on the duty of care for workers working alone.