1. What are the definitions of "occupiers" and "premises"?
a) Meaning of “occupiers”
Under section 3(1) of the Ordinance, an occupier includes a person who has any degree of control over the premises or workplaces. The key to determining whether a person is an occupier is therefore whether the person has control over the place concerned, which normally means the power to admit and exclude visitors. As opposed to an employer who is responsible to provide a safe system of work for the employees, an occupier is only responsible for the physical safety of the premises.
b) Meaning of “premises”
In case of injuries, an employee must show that he was injured whilst on the premises and that the injury arose from the defective state of the premises as opposed to an activity carried out on the premises.
Premises include buildings, land and structures normally attached to buildings or land, which have been found to include scaffolding, the hold of a cargo ship, a mini-van used in a film stunt, a lift, an escalator and a ladder.
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