Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Health and safetyLatest NewsWellbeingOccupational Health

Public sector shoulders blame for asbestos-related illness

by Greg Pitcher 30 Sep 2008
by Greg Pitcher 30 Sep 2008

Public sector organisations are increasingly shouldering the blame for asbestos-related illnesses caused at private firms, according to a legal expert.

Peter Bennett, partner and head of the occupational disease team at law firm Dolmans, said state employers were often seen as a soft touch by lawyers.

The Health and Safety Executive is launching an asbestos awareness campaign in October to reduce the number of people exposed to the deadly substance at work.

Bennett said he had seen a steady rise in the number of asbestos-related claims against the public sector in recent years.

He said: “It is my impression that there is a belief that the public sector is more likely to pay out in event of such claims being made. It is therefore vulnerable to such claims in circumstances where commercial bodies might not be.”

Asbestos-related deaths are usually due to mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Sufferers are entitled to make a claim for compensation from their employers. A claimant does not need to prove that an employer exposed them to the asbestos that made them ill, just that the employer exposed them to asbestos that caused them to be at an increased risk of developing the condition.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Bennett said that someone found to have been exposed to asbestos at an unspecified point during a 20-year career spanning 10 employers, would often claim against the only public sector employer they had.

“If nine of that person’s former employers have gone to the wall years ago, or are hard to trace, the claimant lawyers will know exactly where to turn because, arguably, the public sector will be there to pick up the pieces,” he said. “This, potentially, leads to a disproportionate burden being placed upon the public sector in the context of these claims.”




Greg Pitcher

previous post
David Fairhurst crowned Personnel Today Power Player
next post
Tesco bucks economic downturn with announcement of 30,000 jobs

You may also like

House of Lords to resume scrutiny of Employment...

30 May 2025

Indefinite leave to remain proposal could place workers...

30 May 2025

Overseas workers bring key benefits to IT and...

30 May 2025

Trade uncertainty means 7 million fewer jobs globally

30 May 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Two weeks left to...

30 May 2025

Pension reforms could put savings at risk, group...

30 May 2025

Black workers face greatest risk from workplace surveillance

30 May 2025

Capita and PizzaExpress named for minimum wage underpayments

29 May 2025

Charlie Mayfield: HR needs more proactive approach to...

29 May 2025

Warning issued over loss of ‘frictionless’ business travel...

29 May 2025

  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today