The following details have been supplied by PCS DWP Group:
A Government move to limit compensation for work-related injuries and ill-health has been rejected by the House of Lords. Ministers had wanted to end 'civil liability' on employers, meaning compensation would only be payable if negligence was established, even where the employer was found to be in breach of criminal safety laws. But in a report stage debate in the Lords on 6 March, peers voted 225 to 223 to reject wholesale the change. Moving the successful amendment, former Labour safety minister Lord McKenzie of Luton told peers the clause backed by the government 'seeks to remove civil liability from breaches of duty imposed by health and safety regulations, and our amendment would reinstate that right of action.' He added that should the government clause be passed there would be 'serious consequences' as 'civil liability applies in very limited circumstances and where injured employees would otherwise face a near impossible evidential burden.' This 'would include injuries caused by defective equipment where the employer controls the selection, purchase, installation and maintenance of equipment, where investigation can be very difficult and with the employer holding all the cards.' TUC, which has led the campaign to defend compensation rights, welcomed the Lords vote. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said had the government been successful not only would disease and injury victims lose out, it would have 'a negative effect on preventing injuries in the workplace as compensation claims have always helped to drive forward improvements to help ensure that such incidents are not repeated.'
