What The Changes In Health And Safety Law Means For Employees
October 1st saw plenty of law changes, but the amendments to section 69 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 will have the biggest impact on workers- especially if anyone is either injured or killed at work.
The change in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act now means that a worker’s right to claim compensation following an accident or injury caused by an employer’s breach of health and safety regulations has been removed.
Any employees that have an accident in the workplace will now need to gather the appropriate evidence to prove employer negligence and have more expert witnesses to prove their case. As a result it is likely that they will have a more expensive and longer battle to receive justice.
There is a worry that in many cases, it will be too difficult to pursue justice and many will fail as they don’t have the knowledge or skills to gather the appropriate evidence, leaving workers feeling very vulnerable in their place of work. If workers are feeling this way they should visit a solicitors for help and advice.
There are many all across the UK – for example, Gordon Dean, a solicitors in Great Yarmouth specialises in both claimant Employment Law and Personal Injury Law and are uniquely placed to deal with claims resulting from workplace injuries.
The changes in the health and safety laws could result in a lot of workers deciding against fighting their case simply due to the risks and costs that are now involved, which can often outweigh the compensation for the injury they are claiming for. Before the changes were made on the 1st October, the employer was the one responsible for providing evidence of what they did to avoid the accident, but now the employee is responsible for proving that their employer did not take the actions that they needed to in order to avoid the accident from happening, leaving many employees feeling like they are fighting for an already lost battle.
The new law does not apply to public sector workers and with 81% of people in the UK being employed within this sector, it means that it could effect a mammoth 24 million workers. While the changes to the law have been introduced with the idea of improving the workplaces for UK employers, it is apparent that these changes in law regulations do have their flaws.
Employees will find it more difficult to claim compensation, leaving them feeling vulnerable.
At the same time, changes have also been made to the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. The change decreases the pressure on all businesses in all industries and puts common sense back into health and safety. Furthermore, businesses now have greater flexibility to choose a first aid training that is suitable for their business.
However, this doesn’t take away the fact that employers still have the legal duty to make sure that their employees receive all the attention they need if they were to be taken ill or injured at work.
The change in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act now means that a worker’s right to claim compensation following an accident or injury caused by an employer’s breach of health and safety regulations has been removed.
Any employees that have an accident in the workplace will now need to gather the appropriate evidence to prove employer negligence and have more expert witnesses to prove their case. As a result it is likely that they will have a more expensive and longer battle to receive justice.
There is a worry that in many cases, it will be too difficult to pursue justice and many will fail as they don’t have the knowledge or skills to gather the appropriate evidence, leaving workers feeling very vulnerable in their place of work. If workers are feeling this way they should visit a solicitors for help and advice.
There are many all across the UK – for example, Gordon Dean, a solicitors in Great Yarmouth specialises in both claimant Employment Law and Personal Injury Law and are uniquely placed to deal with claims resulting from workplace injuries.
The changes in the health and safety laws could result in a lot of workers deciding against fighting their case simply due to the risks and costs that are now involved, which can often outweigh the compensation for the injury they are claiming for. Before the changes were made on the 1st October, the employer was the one responsible for providing evidence of what they did to avoid the accident, but now the employee is responsible for proving that their employer did not take the actions that they needed to in order to avoid the accident from happening, leaving many employees feeling like they are fighting for an already lost battle.
The new law does not apply to public sector workers and with 81% of people in the UK being employed within this sector, it means that it could effect a mammoth 24 million workers. While the changes to the law have been introduced with the idea of improving the workplaces for UK employers, it is apparent that these changes in law regulations do have their flaws.
Employees will find it more difficult to claim compensation, leaving them feeling vulnerable.
At the same time, changes have also been made to the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. The change decreases the pressure on all businesses in all industries and puts common sense back into health and safety. Furthermore, businesses now have greater flexibility to choose a first aid training that is suitable for their business.
However, this doesn’t take away the fact that employers still have the legal duty to make sure that their employees receive all the attention they need if they were to be taken ill or injured at work.
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