Claimant lawyers says database of workplace insurance policies should be introduced
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has urged the Government not to repeal an important piece workplace regulation which provides protection for injured workers.
Until now, employers have been required by law to retain their insurance policy records for 40 years.
Apil says this is vital for workers who contract so-called ‘long tail’ diseases from their employers (such as the fatal asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, which can take 30 or 40 years to develop in the body).
"As time passes and records are lost, it becomes increasingly difficult to trace the insurer of a negligent employer. But the Government has said it will get rid of the regulation because it cannot be enforced and represents a burden to business," Apil said.
Amanda Stevens, Apil president said the government should not only retain the regulation, but should introduce a database of workplace insurance policies. Stevens also said that removing the regulation would further weaken an “already cracking system of protection for workers”.
