Bar Council calls on Government to protect injured workers

Posted: November 20, 2012

Posted in: Workplace Injuries 

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has joined the Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA) to call on Peers to hold the Government to account on plans to severely restrict access to justice for injured workers through amendments to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

The Bar Council claims that the new Clause 14 would make it extremely difficult in practice for employees to claim damages from their employers for breach of regulations leading to injury, unless they can prove direct fault.

Michael Todd QC, Chairman of the Bar, said:

“Through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, the Government is seeking to reduce legislative burdens for businesses, but this recent addition will be advantageous only to insurance companies, at the cost of the taxpayer.

“A worker injured by equipment they are required to use may be unable to establish whether their employer was responsible for that equipment’s malfunction. As a result, the law at present works in their favour and ensures access to justice.

“If the Government’s latest proposals are implemented, justice will be denied to many, including those no longer able to work, or whose family members have been killed at work. The cost of funding their care and support will instead fall to the state. That cannot be in the public interest.”

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