In Campbell v Gordon,1 the Supreme Court held, by a majority of three to two, that breach by the corporate employer of its obligation to arrange adequate insurance under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 does not give rise to civil liability on the part of the director. In practice, this means that an aggrieved employee who suffers from her corporate employer’s failure to arrange insurance does not have an alternative course for redress if the corporate employer is insolvent or is not worth suing. The Supreme Court decision is significant for settling any lingering uncertainty left by the much-criticised Court of Appeal decision in Richardson v Pitt-Stanley 2 (which had reached the same conclusion as the Supreme Court) and its discussion of the circumstances in which a court will infer parliamentary intention to permit civil liability where a penal statute is silent. This comment argues that the majority’s decision is to be supported, but that it is regrettable that the court did not address the inconsistencies in the authorities on causes of action arising from breach of statutory duty.