Lawyers oppose changes to work regulation

Lawyers have urged the Government not to get rid of important regulations which provide protection for anyone injured while at work.

Until now, employers were required by law to retain their insurance policy records for 40 years. But the Government wants to eliminate such rules because it claims they are difficult to enforce and are a burden to business.

It means that it will be very difficult for anyone injured at work, or who contracts a disease - such as asbestos-related cancer, which can take up to 40 years to develop - to trace their employer's insurer and seek compensation.

Amanda Stevens, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: 'An injured worker has to be able to trace his employer's insurer in order to obtain the compensation he needs to help him deal with an injury or disease caused by the employer's negligence.

'Removing the regulation which obligates employers to retain their insurance policies really weakens an already creaking system of protection for workers.

'We urge ministers to consider the impact on injured people before going ahead with this move.'

Ms Stevens said the Government should be making regulation stronger, by introducing an electronic database, similar to that used to record car insurance and TV licences, for all employer's insurance policies.

Tanveer Jaleel, founder and senior partner of TJL Solicitors, said: 'Anyone who has suffered an injury or developed an illness as a consequence of their work environment will already have suffered greatly.

'Making it more difficult for them to make a claim will only add to their distress. The Government should be making it easier for victims to seek recompense, rather than making it harder for them to make a claim.'