Posted By Sharon
Has anyone come across any information regarding this:

"Local Governments are pushing for employers to pay for NHS Bills for anyone who has an accident at work and the employer is found liable"

This came out in a HAVs seminar I attended last week.

Anyone got any information?

Posted By TBC
Extract from this site:

www.employment-relations....uk/pages/Archives02.asp

Employers To Pay NHS bills?
You may remember that I commented on this possibility last year. It has now gone one stage further with draft Regulations published in September which propose shifting the cost of accident treatment to employer’s liability insurance and saving the NHS £150 million a year. It is anticipated that the NHS will charge £475 per day for an accident and emergency treatment, and £582 a day for ward care. Inevitably this will have a considerable impact on the cost of employee liability insurance especially for high risk companies such as construction and engineering.

Extract from this site:

www.spainbrothers.co.uk/...ndex.asp?area=news&id=42

'Employers to pay' for work

Health Minister Rosie Winterton has announced plans to extend the NHS Injury Costs Recovery scheme, allowing the NHS to reclaim its costs for treating patients in all cases where personal injury compensation is awarded.

Ms Winterton said, ’This policy will encourage employers to take steps to prevent employees being injured … It is unacceptable that taxpayers have to pay for the medical treatment of someone injured at work simply because employers fail to take adequate steps to protect their workforce’.

However, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) described the news as ’a blow for business’, and warned that insurance companies are likely to pass on the costs to businesses by increasing liability insurance premiums.

According to a recent BCC survey on the cost of employers’ liability insurance, 74% of firms have seen an increase in the cost of cover over the last year, with one third seeing increases of between 20% and 50%.

Almost a third of firms reported that the high cost of liability insurance is threatening the long-term viability of their business.

David Frost, BCC Director General, said, ’Business already pays for the NHS through general taxation and national insurance contributions. Indeed, the Government’s NI rise in last year’s Budget was specifically designed to fund investment in the NHS’.

A consultation on the draft regulations will close on 17 December.

Consultation on the draft regulations can be obtained from www.dh.gov.uk/Consultati...LiveConsultations/fs/en. The closing date for responses is 17 December.

The result will be interesting - I can't find the report yet - it's only March and with holidays etc it's a bit early for the final outcome.