Plan to Reduce £7.8 Billion Per Annum in Compensation Payouts
Introduction
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health reports that the cost of workplace accidents and compensation claims is currently running at 7.8 billion a year with no signs of reducing.
This is a huge cost to UK businesses in payouts, excesses and insurance premiums and the Government now plan to tackle the problem head on.
The bureaucracy and red tape surrounding health and safety and the often unwarranted compensation payouts that have accompanied it will be targeted to bring a more practical and balanced approach to what can be a real problem area for many small and medium sized businesses.
New Legislation
New measures will be revealed by Government Ministers before the end of the year to reduce the burden on employers from excessive bureaucracy in the health and safety system.
The drive is all part of a new round of measures devised by the Coalition to boost the economy and free up business owners' time to concentrate on driving growth.
As the Government continues to cut public spending in its strategy to balance the books it has little scope to spend hence the focus on alternative low cost options such as cutting back on regulations for employers.
A 'common sense' approach
The Department of Work and Pensions, headed by Iain Duncan Smith, has commissioned a review of 200 separate health and safety regulations with the view to restoring a 'common sense' approach to health and safety in the workplace.
The results of the review, led by Prof Ragnar Löfstedt of King's College London, are expected to be revealed next month. One of the key areas of the review is what's classed as 'inappropriate' legal actions based on health and safety regulations and the compensation awards that arise from them.
There is a general view in the business community that health and safety legislation has gone too far and many businesses fear contravening the law and being sued over the most trivial of incidents.
In one reported incident for example a company was sued for compensation by an employee who was injured opening a gate who claimed he had not been given formal training in the health and safety aspects of gate opening.
Britain has one of the best health and safety records in Europe but the Department of Works and Pensions review will also consider the claim that Britain enshrines EU legislation over enthusiastically thus creating the current bureaucratic and over-burdened conditions which has led to UK businesses being at a disadvantage to their European competitors.
Protecting peoples' rights
The move to a more sensible approach to health and safety guidelines and compensation claims must be balanced with the need to ensure that all employers provide safe working conditions for their employees and must always be held responsible for this.
If these conditions are breached then it is important that all employees have recourse to the justice system and can claim compensation for injuries sustained due to a workplace accident that was not their fault or workplace practices that fall below minimum standards of health and safety.
Making a workplace accident compensation claim should be a simple process and this fundamental principle should be available to all, as it is, under the existing legal process within the UK.
Introducing a framework of guidelines to maintain a system of balances and checks can only improve the current situation and ensure that legitimate claims are appropriately assessed, evaluated, processed and paid.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health reports that the cost of workplace accidents and compensation claims is currently running at 7.8 billion a year with no signs of reducing.
This is a huge cost to UK businesses in payouts, excesses and insurance premiums and the Government now plan to tackle the problem head on.
The bureaucracy and red tape surrounding health and safety and the often unwarranted compensation payouts that have accompanied it will be targeted to bring a more practical and balanced approach to what can be a real problem area for many small and medium sized businesses.
New Legislation
New measures will be revealed by Government Ministers before the end of the year to reduce the burden on employers from excessive bureaucracy in the health and safety system.
The drive is all part of a new round of measures devised by the Coalition to boost the economy and free up business owners' time to concentrate on driving growth.
As the Government continues to cut public spending in its strategy to balance the books it has little scope to spend hence the focus on alternative low cost options such as cutting back on regulations for employers.
A 'common sense' approach
The Department of Work and Pensions, headed by Iain Duncan Smith, has commissioned a review of 200 separate health and safety regulations with the view to restoring a 'common sense' approach to health and safety in the workplace.
The results of the review, led by Prof Ragnar Löfstedt of King's College London, are expected to be revealed next month. One of the key areas of the review is what's classed as 'inappropriate' legal actions based on health and safety regulations and the compensation awards that arise from them.
There is a general view in the business community that health and safety legislation has gone too far and many businesses fear contravening the law and being sued over the most trivial of incidents.
In one reported incident for example a company was sued for compensation by an employee who was injured opening a gate who claimed he had not been given formal training in the health and safety aspects of gate opening.
Britain has one of the best health and safety records in Europe but the Department of Works and Pensions review will also consider the claim that Britain enshrines EU legislation over enthusiastically thus creating the current bureaucratic and over-burdened conditions which has led to UK businesses being at a disadvantage to their European competitors.
Protecting peoples' rights
The move to a more sensible approach to health and safety guidelines and compensation claims must be balanced with the need to ensure that all employers provide safe working conditions for their employees and must always be held responsible for this.
If these conditions are breached then it is important that all employees have recourse to the justice system and can claim compensation for injuries sustained due to a workplace accident that was not their fault or workplace practices that fall below minimum standards of health and safety.
Making a workplace accident compensation claim should be a simple process and this fundamental principle should be available to all, as it is, under the existing legal process within the UK.
Introducing a framework of guidelines to maintain a system of balances and checks can only improve the current situation and ensure that legitimate claims are appropriately assessed, evaluated, processed and paid.
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