The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is supporting an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill to repeal section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. The amendments has been tabled by Chris Law, Scottish National Party member of parliament for Dundee Central, who is on the committee currently scrutinising the Bill.
APIL treasurer Gordon Dalyell explained: “Until the 2013 Act, injured workers had the statutory right to claim compensation if their employers had breached health and safety regulations. But section 69 of the Act took this route to compensation away.
“Injured workers must now rely almost exclusively on the common law instead, which means they have to demonstrate that negligence has taken place. This is especially challenging in the workplace, where employers always have the upper hand. They control the workplace, the equipment, the systems, and hold all the information.”.
Dalyell continued: “Recent judicial decisions have highlighted the increased complexity in some employers’ liability cases and the increasing uncertainty for people who suffer injuries at work since section 69 came into effect. There is a real concern that many people who suffer harm in the workplace may not be getting as far as establishing a claim.”
APIL analysis of data from the Compensation Recovery Unit and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that between 2018 and 2024 there was a 16% increase in the number of workers with injuries that required more than seven days absence, or who became ill because of their work. Over the same period, employers’ liability compensation claims plummeted by 50%.
“Mr Law’s amendment to repeal section 69 is a chance to right a wrong,” Dalyell said.
