Catering insurance in the UK: employers' liability, public liability and the rest

Employers' liability: the one you must have

HSE's guide to the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 says most employers must insure against liability for injury or disease to their employees arising out of their employment. For a caterer that covers kitchen porters, chefs, waiting staff and event crew, including people paid by the shift if you control how, when and where they work.

You must be insured for at least £5 million, and HSE notes that most insurers offer at least £10 million in practice. The £5 million includes legal costs, which is one reason many businesses buy more. The policy must come from an authorised insurer, which you can check on the Financial Conduct Authority's register.

When you take out or renew the policy you get a certificate. You must display it where staff can read it easily, and since 1 October 2008 you may display it electronically if staff know where to find it and can reach it. HSE inspectors can ask to see it.

Do casual event staff count as employees?

This is where caterers get caught. HSE is clear that the label you use does not decide it. What matters is the real relationship: whether you deduct tax and National Insurance, control where and when they work and how they do it, supply their equipment, and whether they can send a substitute.

A server who works your events on your rota, in your uniform, with your equipment, is very likely an employee for this purpose even if paid as casual labour. A freelance chef who runs their own business, works for several caterers, brings their own knives and could send someone else in their place is more likely a contractor. If you are unsure, insure them. Insurers generally cover casual and temporary staff under the same policy if you declare the wage roll accurately.

Work experience students and unpaid trainees are usually covered under an existing employers' liability policy, according to HSE, but tell your insurer if they work with you for long periods or do work outside your usual business.

Public liability for caterers: not compulsory, almost always required

HSE describes public liability as cover for claims made by members of the public or other businesses, but not by employees, and notes it is generally voluntary. For an event caterer, the public includes guests, the venue's staff and other suppliers on site.

In practice, public liability is the policy that wins you work. Venues, wedding planners, festivals and corporate procurement teams ask for a copy of the schedule before they book you, and many set a minimum limit in their supplier terms. Read those terms before you buy, because buying a limit that is lower than your biggest venue requires means buying twice.

Typical claims are slips on spilt food near a buffet, burns from a chafing dish or a portable gas burner, and damage to a venue's floor or furniture during setup. Ask your insurer how the policy treats work at third party premises and equipment you set up there.

Product liability: cover for the food itself

Product liability covers claims that something you supplied caused injury or illness. For caterers that means food poisoning, foreign bodies and allergic reactions. Most catering policies bundle it with public liability, often sharing one limit. Check whether yours does, and whether the limit applies per claim or across the year.

Insurers look hard at food safety records after a claim. A documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles, such as the FSA's Safer Food Better Business pack, together with temperature logs, allergen records and staff training records, is what lets you show you took reasonable care. The same records keep a good food hygiene rating. Our guides to the food hygiene rating and the level 2 food hygiene certificate cover both.

Allergen claims deserve special attention. Since 1 October 2021, food prepacked for direct sale must carry a full ingredients label with allergens emphasised, and for loose food you must give allergen information on request. A missed allergen is one of the most serious claims a caterer can face.

Your van, your kit and your income

You must have motor insurance to drive on UK roads, and the minimum is third party cover. A personal policy usually excludes business use, so tell your insurer you use the vehicle for deliveries to events. Equipment such as hot cupboards, chafing dishes, gas burners and refrigerated units can be insured in transit and at venues, which a home or shop contents policy normally excludes.

Business interruption cover pays lost income if a fire or flood closes your kitchen, but read the trigger events closely. Many policies only pay after physical damage, not because a venue cancels. Cancellation of a client's event is a separate risk that sits with the client's own event cancellation insurance.

Home caterers, alcohol and events

If you cater from home, GOV.UK's guidance on starting a food business reminds you to check your home insurance and get permission from your mortgage provider or landlord. A standard home policy is unlikely to cover a catering business, so you need commercial cover even at small scale.

If you sell alcohol at an event that has no premises licence, the organiser or caterer needs a temporary event notice. Insurers will ask whether you sell alcohol, because it changes the public liability risk. Our guide to temporary event notices explains the limits and timing.

Keep the paperwork your insurer will ask for

When something goes wrong, your insurer wants the booking, the menu, the guest numbers, who was working, the allergen information you gave and the temperature records. Venura's catering app keeps the client, event date, headcount, menu, dietary notes, quotation, invoices, payments and staff schedule on one event record on web, Android and iOS, so you can answer quickly.

Venura does not sell insurance or deal with insurers for you. It keeps the event records tidy so a claim conversation is short.

Catering insurance: questions from the United Kingdom