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.
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.
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