On the morning of the day of the assault, Brown was watching a frame come out of the oven. To make the most efficient use of the oven, frames had to be fed in regularly. There was nothing to suggest that “he had a short temper or was in any way vicious”. On the previous day, and on the day of the assault, he had had to be reminded to switch on the oven. He needed reminding of what he should be doing. The court observed that there was evidence that Brown was “not a wholly satisfactory employee” and on some days it was difficult to get through to him. The belt took them through an oven where the sprayed powder was fused to the frame. His job was to spray metal bed frames with a powder and load them onto a conveyor belt where they were hung on hooks. Wallbank was the Managing Director of the company that also employed Mr. He pleaded guilty in the Crown Court and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. Marsh appeared to realise what a “wicked and stupid thing” he had done. He bicycled to the care home and, finding Weddall sitting in the garden of the home, carried out what the judge found to be “an utterly unprovoked attack, very violent, and that no words of any significance were spoken. Marsh, who was very drunk, was free to accept or decline the offer of an additional shift but reacted badly to the telephone call and thought that Weddall was mocking him because of his drunken state. Weddall telephoned Marsh on the evening of the assault to ask him whether he would be prepared to work an additional shift that night as another employee had called in sick. Marsh was a Senior Health Assistant at the home. Weddall was the Deputy Manager of a care home operated by Barchester Healthcare Limited. The judge in the County Court in each case had found that the tortfeasor, who had carried out the assault, had not been acting in the course of his employment. In both cases, the victim of an assault sues the employer alleging that the employer is vicariously liable for the tortious act of the employee. The Court of Appeal decided two separate appeals that concerned the circumstances in which an employer company would be liable for the tort committed by its employee. Weddall v Barchester Healthcare Ltd Wallbank v Wallbank Fox Designs Ltd EWCA Civ 25

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