Employers should brace themselves for a rise in sexual assault claims after a recent ruling by the House of Lords, a legal expert has warned.

Brian Rogers, operations director at Manchester law firm Lewis Hymanson Small, believes the decision to allow courts to decide if cases older than six years can go ahead could open the door to a raft of such claims.

The ruling ostensibly reduced the timeframe in which cases can be brought from six years to three, but added the proviso that courts can make exceptions for older cases.

"The decision means claims from 10 years ago or more could be brought to court," said Rogers. "It also means claimants will no longer need to prove negligence by employers and will simply have to prove they were assaulted and suffered an injury as a result. The employer could be liable for this.

"It means for employers, the door on historic abuse claims could remain permanently open. Staff and former staff will have the threat of claims hanging over them for life, and employers are at risk of having to pay out millions of pounds in damages."