Government must exclude workplace injuries from the small claims limit increase
Employees injured at work need legal representation to help ensure that those responsible are held to account and that health and safety standards in the workplace are maintained, say ABI and USDAW.
The Civil Liability Act 2018 reformed whiplash claims and is now being implemented. The Government also proposes to change the rules for employer liability personal injury cases, by doubling the threshold for the small claims court. The Association of British Insurers, trade unions, personal injury solicitors, the British Safety Council, The Law Society and the Justice Select Committee all firmly believe the Government should not pursue this policy. Employees injured at work need legal representation to help ensure that those responsible are held to account and that health and safety standards in the workplace are maintained.
We remain concerned that the Government is still considering moving a significant number of these cases into the small claims court where legal costs cannot be recovered, forcing injured employees to represent themselves in a complex legal process without adequate advice and support.
Doubling the small claim’s limit for employer liability cases is unnecessary, unjustified and will restrict access to justice for thousands of genuinely injured employees who have sustained injury through no fault of their own. It also places unnecessary strains on an already overburdened justice system by increasing the number of unrepresented claimants and will increase the unwelcome activities of claims management companies. We are also concerned about the inevitable erosion of workplace health and safety standards if injured workers are not able to seek legal redress.
The Government has already rightly excluded vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, horse riders, motorcyclists and cyclists from the proposed increase as well as children and protected adults. The employment relationship and the evidential complexity of cases mean that injured employees are also vulnerable claimants and should therefore also be excluded.
Upcoming parliamentary event:
ABI and USDAW are calling for the Government to exclude workplace injuries from the small claims limit increase.
When: 26th February 2020 at 3:15 pm
Where: Conference Room C, Ground Floor, 1 Parliament St.
Chaired by: Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary
Speakers: Richard Miller, Head of Justice at The Law Society, James Dalton, Director of the Association of British Insurers, Lawrence Waterman OBE, Chairman of the British Safety Council, Gerard Stilliard, Thompsons Solicitors.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
