Government forces through law to rob injured workers

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 Lords voted by 170 to 112 on 23 April to accept the government proposals to restrict compensation to cases where employer negligence is established, reversing an earlier vote opposing the government's plans (Risks 601). The change was spelled out in an amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which received Royal Assent on 25 April and now becomes law. The TUC said the new Act 'could have massive implications for compensation cases and will lead to a legal nightmare as the courts have to unpick decades of case law on compensation. It is also almost certainly going to fall foul of European Regulation.' Public sector union UNISON said it 'will continue to fight for the rights of workers to receive compensation for injuries at work, and will be working with the TUC to campaign against and prevent the implementation of this damaging bill.' Tom Jones, head of policy and public affairs at the trade union law firm Thompsons Solicitors, said: 'This amendment, which was originally defeated in the House of Lords, will reverse the decline in deaths and major injuries in the UK with all its social and economic ramifications. This is a green light to employers to sidestep regulations specifically created to protect the health and safety of workers.' He added: 'The government has got its way but its handling of the issue was shabby and the outcome is no advert for democracy.'

• UNISON news release. Thompsons Solicitors news release.