Letter: Law should penalise negligent employers

Sir: Your law report (16 June) reveals yet another restriction on access to justice. The Lord Chancellor's plans to stop injured individuals from being legally represented when they take their employer to court will benefit only greedy insurance companies and careless employers.

Refusing to allow the courts to award legal costs to successful individuals (in cases worth up to pounds 1,000) will mean that only rich people will have access to justice. That will give a green light to employers who want to ignore basic health and safety standards, safe in the knowledge that their employees will be unable to afford legal action.

The law should penalise negligent employers, not the workers who suffer that negligence.

Yours faithfully,

JOHN MONKS

General Secretary

TUC

London, WC1

16 June