Up to 300,000 of the smallest companies may no longer need employers' liability (EL) insurance following the Department for Work and Pensions' second report on the EL crisis.
The report, published today, said the government would be reviewing the need for the smallest single-employer companies to have EL insurance.
Other steps to be taken include:
* Postponing the introduction of the recovery of NHS charges for personal injury claims by one year to November 2004
* Publishing "A Framework for Vocational Rehabilitation" in the summer of 2004, with the ultimate aim of developing a new approach to rehabilitation in the UK
* Developing pilot programmes to test new ways to resolve claims more quickly and with fewer associated costs
* Working with employers, insurers and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to develop an approach to underwriting which better reflects the health and safety performance of individuals
The report did not make any decision on the issue of long-tail disease risk. The government said that it would wait for the ABI to finish its work on the matter, which is expected early next year.
The manufacturers' organisation, EEF, welcomed the proposals to improve rehabilitation and called on the government as the UK's largest employer to set the pace for rehabilitation reform. But EEF head of health and safety Gary Booton said:
"There are still major challenges ahead which must address the cost of resolving claims, how long-tail disease claims can best be dealt with and to identify strategies for better relating risk to premium."
