I Was Injured While Working For Cash, Can I Claim Compensation?
By Cat Way. Last Updated 16th June 2023. Have you had an accident at work that has caused you an injury? Do you believe it was someone else’s fault? Did the person you were working for not take care of your health and safety while you were working for them? These are all considerations that, in normal terms, could lead to you being eligible to claim compensation. However, if you have been injured while working for cash, you might ask ‘Can I still claim compensation?’ In these circumstances, the answer may be a little unclear.
Injured while working for cash can I still claim compensation guide
You may be wondering, “is working cash in hand illegal?” This guide has been created to help you if you’ve been injured while working for cash. In the sections below, we explain what working for cash means, and how you may need to prove your employment status in order to make a claim for compensation.
We also explain more about making a personal injury claim for an accident at work in general terms and give you some idea of how much compensation personal injury claims for accidents at work could bring you.
If you have any questions after reading this guide, or you believe you could be in a position to claim compensation, our team could help you.
Simply call Legal Expert on 0800 073 8804 for assistance. We could even provide you with a personal injury lawyer to help you make a claim.
Select A Section
- A Guide In If You Could Claim If Injured While Working For Cash
- Is Working Cash In Hand Illegal?
- Proving That You Were Owed A Duty Of Care
- How To Prove A Personal Injury Claim
- Compensation Calculator – Accident At Work Claims
- Losses And Expenses You May Be Compensated For
- No Win No Fee Claims If You Were Injured While Working For Cash
- Quick References
A Guide In If You Could Claim If Injured While Working For Cash
‘I was injured while working for cash – can I still claim compensation?’ This is a complex question and the answer depends on a number of factors.
Employment rights are a complex issue, and your status of employment has a significant bearing on whether you could claim compensation if you were injured while working for cash. In the sections below, we answer questions such as:
- Are cash in hand payments legal in the UK?
- What happens if you get caught working cash in hand?
- Can I claim compensation if I’ve been working cash in hand and been injured at work?
We also explain the personal injury claims time limit that could apply to an accident at work claim and talk you through the compensation you could claim if you have a valid claim.
Is Working Cash In Hand Illegal?
You might be wondering, ‘are cash in hand payments legal in the UK?’ This method of payment itself is not illegal, as long as relevant taxes and National Insurance deductions have been carried out before you are paid. Your employee should always give you a pay slip, which you can use to determine what deductions have been made.
Although paying cash in hand is legal, if taxes have not been paid, then this is against the law. By doing this your employer could also be in breach of health and safety laws that apply to the workplace. Therefore, if you were injured in an accident at work and were paid cash in hand without paying taxes, you could sue your employer for negligence.
Get in touch at any time for free advice from our friendly team of advisors. They can put you in touch with our accident at work solicitors and can answer any questions you might have, such as, ‘is working cash in hand illegal?’.
Proving That You Were Owed A Duty Of Care
Proving that someone owed you a duty of care could depend on whether you were self-employed or an employee. For example:
If you were self-employed, you could prove that the person whose premises you were working in owed you a duty of care. While you are largely responsible for your own safety as a self-employed person, you may be able to claim if you could prove:
- You were working on premises that were unsafe (in such cases you may be able to claim under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957)
- You were travelling as a self-employed person as part of your job and were injured due to another motorist’s fault
If you were an employee, no matter whether you were paid cash in hand or not, you would be owed a duty of care by your employer under the Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974.
If you could prove that someone’s breach of their duty of care towards you led you to suffering an injury while working for cash, then you could claim compensation for your injuries.
Work For Cash In Hand – Claim Time Limit Exceptions
If you work cash in hand or work a job for cash, the time limit for starting a claim remains the same as it is for all personal injury claims. This is three years starting from the date the accident occurred, as set out by the Limitation Act 1980. This legislation also outlines the exceptions in place, which include:
- Claimants under the age of eighteen: The time limit is frozen for those under the age of eighteen and is reinstated on their eighteenth birthday. A litigation friend can claim on their behalf while the time limit is suspended.
- Those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves: The time limit is suspended indefinitely for those who lack the mental capacity to make a claim for themselves. If they recover the appropriate capacity, the time limit will reinstate on their recovery date. Otherwise, a litigation friend can make their claim on their behalf.
To learn more about the accident at work claims time limit or to start your claim after being injured at a job paying cash in hand, contact our team today.
How To Prove A Personal Injury Claim
There are various ways in which you could prove that an accident took place if you were injured while working for cash. You could use:
- A report in an accident book
- Photographs of the scene
- Photographs of your injury
- Witness details
- RIDDOR reporting – if you have sustained a specified injury in the workplace, you would be required to report this under RIDDOR yourself if you were self-employed. Your employer has a duty to report specified injuries to RIDDOR if you are an employee too.
- Medical report – you would need to see an independent doctor as part of your claim. They could verify you were injured while working for cash and could provide a medical report to back up your claim.
If you are concerned about what evidence you would need to claim for an accident at work that happened while you were working for cash, we could help. Our expert team could advise you on what evidence could be useful when looking to make a claim.
Compensation Calculator – Accident At Work Claims
Settlements for successful accident at work claims will include general damages. This compensates you for your injury, including the pain and suffering it has caused you and how it has impacted your quality of life.
When trying to find out how much compensation you could be owed, you may be recommended to use a compensation calculator. This could help give you a clearer idea of how much you could be owed in general damage, though it may be unable to take any special damages into account.
Alternatively, you could use the table we have created below. Many legal professionals will use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them value various claims. This is because the JCG assigns compensation brackets to various injuries. This is why we have used the figures listed in the 16th edition of the JCG when creating the following table. However, this table should only be used as a guide, as how much compensation you could receive will depend on your specific claim.
| Injury | Notes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Neck Injuries | (a)(i) – Usually associated with paraplegia that is incomplete, where despite wearing a collar 24/7 the is limited neck movement and severe headaches. | In the reign of £148,330 |
| Neck Injuries | (b)(i) – Dislocations or fractures that cause immediate symptoms. The injury may also require spinal fusion. | £24,990 to £38,490 |
| Leg Injury | (b)(i) – Injuries could include a gross shortening of the leg, fractures that haven’t untied and degloving of the leg. | £96,250 to £135,920 |
| Leg injury | (b)(iv) – Serious crush injuries or multiple fractures to one leg. | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Arm Injury | (a) – Injuries such as a serious brachial plexus injury that did not require amputation but is still very serious. | £96,160 to £130,930 |
| Arm Injury | (c) – The person will have suffered with substantial disabilities but there will have been a significant recovery. | £19,200 to £39,170 |
| Foot Injury | (d) – Both feet or heels have been fractured which causes permanent pain and restricted mobility. | £41,970 to £70,030 |
| Foot Injury | (f) – Continuing symptoms and a permanent foot deformity due to displaced metatarsal fractures. | £13,740 to £24,990 |
| Back Injuries | (a)(iii) Dis lesions or fractures that lead to chronic conditions. Severe discomfort and pain will still be present despite treatment. | £38,780 to £69,730 |
| Back Injuries | (c)(i) – A sprain, strain or soft tissue injury that fully recovers within 2-5 years without surgery. | £7,890 to £12,510 |
Contact one of our advisors today to learn more about how an accident at work claims calculator works.
Losses And Expenses You May Be Compensated For
In addition to the compensation you could receive for the injuries you’ve sustained you could also be compensated for costs and losses you’ve incurred as a direct result of your injuries.
These could include:
- Loss of earnings – if your injuries have caused you to miss work, you may have lost out on income. Such losses could be included within your claim.
- Care costs – some injuries may lead you to need help at home with tasks such as washing or dressing, for example. Care costs could be included as part of your claim.
- Travel expenses – if you’ve attended medical appointments or appointments with your lawyer, and have incurred costs because of these, you could include them within your claim.
- Medical expenses – if you’ve had to pay for prescription medicines, counselling or physiotherapy, these could all be included within your claim.
It is vital that you keep any proof of financial expenses that have arisen from your injuries. Bank statements, receipts, payslips and bills could all help ensure you claim everything you’re entitled to.
No Win No Fee Claims If You Were Injured While Working For Cash
If you would like the assistance of a personal injury lawyer when making a claim for compensation, you may be under the assumption that this would come with upfront costs. However, if you choose to work with a lawyer under No Win No Fee terms, this would mean you would not pay anything until your case was completed and your compensation payout had come through.
Before you begin a No Win No Fee claim, you would be sent an agreement, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, which you’d be asked to sign. This lays out the success fee that would be payable to your solicitor once a compensation settlement has been arranged. The success fee represents a small proportion of your compensation payout and is legally capped.
Once this signed agreement had been signed, your lawyer would begin building your case and fight for the maximum compensation possible for you. You wouldn’t be expected to pay them anything throughout this process, but once they’d negotiated a payout for you, their success fee would be deducted from it.
In the event that a compensation settlement wasn’t reached, you would not pay the success fee. You would not pay the costs that your solicitor had incurred during the claims process either.
If you would like us to provide you with a personal injury solicitor who works under No Win No Fee terms, or ask us anything further about the No Win No Fee payment arrangements, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.
Contact Us Today
Are you ready to begin a claim for compensation, or would you like us to answer some questions about your eligibility or the claims process? Whatever you need, we’re ready to help you. You can get in touch with us in a number of ways:
- Telephone: 0800 073 8804
- E-mail: info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Through our online contact form
- Or, via Live Chat Messenger
Quick References
Claiming If You’re Self-Employed – This guide covers all you may need to know if you’re making an injury claim as a self-employed worker.
General Guidance On Accident At Work Claims – This page gives you a wealth of information about accident at work claims.
Claiming For Being Bullied At Work – If you’ve been harassed at work, you may be able to claim compensation. Our guide explains this further.
Report Someone For Working Cash In Hand – If you know someone is working cash in hand illegally, you could report them via this link.
Injury At Work Compensation – This takes you to the government’s page regarding injury at work compensation for employers. It explains their tax/NI responsibilities.
Guide For Workers Injured At Work – This page from the government’s website explains what you could do if you were injured at work.
Other Claims We Could Help You With
- Stress at work claims.
- Office ancient claims.
- Work-related illness claims.
- Foot injury claims.
- Arm injury claims.
- Get more information on claiming for a laceration injury and scarring with our helpful guide.
- Get advice on mopping accident claims and learn more about the claims process.
- Our guide offers more information on Achilles tendon settlements and how to claim.
- If you slipped on water in a bathroom and were injured, you may be able to claim.
- Find out how to make a claim for a lift accident and get more information on the compensation claims process.
Thank you for reading our guide on whether working cash in hand is illegal and if you can still claim if you are injured while working.
Guide by Jeffries
Edited by Billing
