Tougher Penalties for Safety Negligent Bosses Have Been Welcomed by Top UK Injury Lawyer
A new Health and Safety Offences Act will raise the maximum penalties that can be levied against negligent bosses from £5,000 to £20,000, as well as broadening the range of offences for which an individual can be imprisoned.
Manchester, UK (PRWEB) November 4, 2008 -- A new Health and Safety Offences Act will raise the maximum penalties that can be levied against negligent bosses from £5,000 to £20,000, as well as broadening the range of offences for which an individual can be imprisoned.
Commenting on the new law Michael Jefferies of First Personal Injury says "Any moves to make company directors take health and safety more seriously is a good thing, and placing a statutory legal obligation on individual directors to ensure their workplace is safe in the first place will help reduce deaths and injuries".
The new Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 16th October, 2008.
Employees have always had rights under the Health and Safety at Work Act but these rights have now been strengthened.
Every employer has a duty to protect its employees and tell them about health and safety issues that affect them. They also have a legal obligation to report certain accidents and incidents, and to pay statutory sick pay, or contractual sick pay if you are entitled to it, if you need time off because of an accident at work.
Commenting further, lawyers at First Personal Injury think it's important to stress that both employers and employees are responsible for safe working practices and state that:
An employer has to carry out risk assessments and do what is needed to take care of the health and safety of employees and visitors. This includes for example deciding how many first aiders are needed, and what kind of first aid equipment and facilities should be provided.
Employees must also take reasonable care over their own health and safety.
Any injury at work - including minor injuries - should be recorded in your employer's 'accident book'. All employers (except for very small companies) must keep an accident book. It's mainly for the benefit of employees, as it provides a useful record of what happened in case you need time off work or need to claim compensation at a later date. Recording accidents also helps your employer to see what's going wrong and enables them to take action to stop further accidents.
Unfortunately accidents at work can happen and if you've been injured in an accident at work and you think your employer is at fault, you may want to make a claim for compensation. Any claim must be made within three years of the date of the accident, and you'll normally need a lawyer to represent you. If you belong to a trade union, you may be able to use their legal services. Otherwise, you should speak to a specialist personal injury lawyer.
By law, your employer must be insured to cover a successful claim. Your employer should place a certificate with the name of their employer's insurance company where it can be seen at work. If not, they must give you the details if you need them.
Any employee seeking advice about claiming compensation for a work related accident should contact First Personal Injury on 0800 014 1629 for a free confidential initial consultation.
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