Employment Affairs


Union call for EL/PL claims exclusion from small claims limit


Trade union Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) has called for employers’ and public liability (EL/PL) claims to be taken out of the proposal to raise the limit for personal injury claims that go to a small claims court from £1,000 to £5,000. John Hannett, Usdaw general secretary, said: “Whilst there is a debate about compensation for whiplash caused by road traffic accidents, there is no concern about fraud or excessive claims in EL/PL cases. The Justice Select Committee recently heard evidence that the complexity of workplace injury cases makes them entirely unsuitable for a small claims court. So we are calling on the government to take EL/PL claims out of the scope of their review.”