A Parent Company's Tort Liability to Employees of a Subsidiary

Under Anglo-Australian common law, the principle of separate entity of companies is applied notwithstanding that two or more companies operate in a corporate group in a single economic enterprise. But where a parent company is itself involved in the activities of its subsidiaries, it may be subject to a direct duty of care in tort owed to persons who are injured as a result of the subsidiaries’ activities. This article examines English and Australian case law on the scope of a parent company’s duty of care owed to employees of its subsidiaries.