A landlord of commercial premises owes a duty of care to employees of tenants in respect of dangerous structural defects of which the landlord knew or ought to have known, and this duty is not abrogated by the employer's non-delegable duty of care. The words 'joint tortfeasor or otherwise' in s 151Z(2)(c) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) are wide enough to encompass contractual entitlements, so that a contractual indemnity or obligation between the employer and the non-employer tortfeasor is relevant to the assessment of contribution under the section. Where the non-employer tortfeasor had the contractual obligation to maintain the premises and failed to do so, the employer may be entitled to complete indemnity, resulting in no contribution being recoverable.
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