Trades Union Congress - Workplace Issues

HSE listed 173 fatal workplace injuries in 2011/12 and these have over 200,000 non-fatal work injuries. In 2010/11 an estimated 1.9 million people in Great Britain were suffering from an illness they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work.

There are about 100,000 successful personal injury claims a year, normally paid by the insurer providing employers' liability insurance. Unions win the lion's share of personal injury compensation payouts. Each year settle claims worth over £300 million.

Trade unions provide legal advice and support for pursuing compensation claims for occupational injuries and work-related diseases. Increasingly unions also provide legal support for non work-related issued workers and their families, including road traffic accidents.

Links

What's your body worth? www.hazards.org/compensation

Industrial Injuries Advisory Council www.iiac.org.uk

The Compensation Myth: TUC Report on 10 myths surrounding compensation in the workplace www.tuc.org.uk/extras/compensationmyth.doc

The government has successfully pushed through a new law that will remove the right to claim compensation for injuries caused by a criminal breach of workplace health and safety regulations.

The introduction later this month of a 'savaged' version of the government scheme to compensate people injured in violent crimes has been condemned by retail union Usdaw.

Unions and Labour have accused the government of 'stacking' a parliamentary committee to ensure that controversial changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme were passed.

The TUC has condemned the reintroduction of proposals to cut compensation for workers who are the victims of crime through their work.

The TUC has strongly criticised moves to prevent workers from gaining compensation when they are injured and the employer has broken a health and safety law that has 'strict liability'.

This is a breifing from the TUC on the government's proposals to remove strcit liability from health and safety legislation. This will efffect the ability of workers to gain compensation.

TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS
Telephone 020 7636 4030, Email

Trades Union Congress: Workplace Issues

Compensation