Staff at fault for workplace injuries to be blocked from suing companies

Irresponsible workers who are injured at work because of their own mistakes should not be able to sue their employers for damages, a review of health and safety rules will say next week.

Under plans that will be welcomed by ministers, workplace safety laws will be “rebalanced” to put more emphasis on workers’ own responsibility.

Whitehall sources said that the review, led by Prof Ragnar Löfstedt of King’s College London, will also set out plans to radically reduce the number of health and safety rules.

As part of their efforts to support the struggling economy, ministers want to lift the financial burden put on companies by health and safety rules.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health estimates that the combined cost to businesses of workplace accidents and compensation payments is almost £8 billion a year.

British business groups are backing a shift in the balance of liabilities on workplace accidents and injuries, arguing that some employees are exploiting the law to sue employers for incidents they caused through their own carelessness.

Source : www.telegraph.co.uk