Cuts threaten rise in workplace accident claimsRSS Feed

More workers could be launching accident claims against their employers because the government is cutting funding to the agency responsible for ensuring workplace safety.

This is the warning from the British Safety Council, whose director of policy and research Neal Stone claimed that reducing the budget for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) could have a "profound effect" on accident at work rates.

"At the moment, every workplace in Great Britain can expect a visit from an inspector on average once every 38 years. That is going to be far less frequent with the budget reductions the HSE is facing," he explained.

It comes as the HSE is facing a 35 per cent cut in its budget over the next four years.

According to a leaked letter seen by the BBC, the agency is proposing to reduce the number of inspections it carries out in order to make savings.

Mr Stone went on to say that new technology could be used more effectively by the HSE, as physical inspections are "very, very time consuming [and] very costly".

Accident claims advice from Serious Law

Posted by T B Walters

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