Thousands of care workers could sue the government for compensation for being unfairly blacklisted following a House of Lords ruling.
Law lords ruled that because care workers in England who have been accused of harming children or vulnerable adults are put on a provisional blacklist before any investigation, they are denied a fair hearing. It takes many months for the appeal process to work, during which time the employee cannot work.
The ruling was made in the case of four care-home nurses placed on two blacklists after allegations of abuse. The nurses had been placed on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults and the Protection of Children Act lists.
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The lords ruled that the procedure was incompatible with Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Royal College of Nursing – which has campaigned to scrap the procedure – said about 5,500 people have been placed on the provisional list and could potentially bring compensation claims – potentially costing the government tens of millions of pounds.
