Industrial Injuries Appeal - a small win can be a big deal

I posted here just over a year ago about helping out a member at an industrial injuries tribunal hearing. At that hearing they won the appeal but did not get any benefit since the tribunal deemed that their current disability was less than 14% (its a long story) which means you get nothing.

I would normally encourage a member to take advice from specialist welfare rights advisers such as Law centres or Citizen Advice. Many years ago I worked as an advisor but am now “out of date”. But (its a long story) the member did not want to seek advice from anyone else as they did not want to discuss their accident and the impact on their health with anyone else.

We had to appeal on a point of law only - so we tried to argue that the decision was perverse since it was plainly unreasonable and did not fit the facts. This was turned down by a Commissioner (Judge) who said it was not a point of law. We argued that it was a point of law. Another Commissioner reviewed this argument and agreed with the previous decision that it was not a point of law but found that the appeal tribunal had indeed “erred” in law by not explaining its decision properly and ordered a fresh tribunal appeal(hmmm - no comment).

At this rehearing the appeal was again allowed but this time the disability was assessed at 20% not 14% which meant they were eligible for benefit and it was awarded for life. So after almost 20 years finally justice is done (I told you it was a long story). The member will only receive about £28 per week (tax free but nearly £3,000 in back payment) but was really, really pleased to be getting some compensation for the decades of pain and suffering caused by a horrible accident at work.

In the trade union movement we need to wake up to industrial injury benefits. Why did it take over 15 years after returning to work for the member to realise they could claim? I suspect that every large UNISON branch in local government and health have manuel members redeployed or on permanent light duties due to industrial injuries who could be eligible for benefits. Mental health injuries caused by work is another less obvious area to think about. I will see what we can do at region but I think that all union reps ought to seriously think about whether they have members who should apply. I think most of you will have at least one.

UPDATE: in conversation this morning with Disability rights Guru, Montrose Matty, he reminded me that sufferers from work related Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) may also be eligible.

Claim it or Lose it - Industrial Injuries Scheme

This afternoon I helped a long standing, good trade union member at a tribunal hearing. This hearing was an appeal against a refusal by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay him a benefit under the "Industrial Injuries Scheme".

He "won" the appeal but will not get any money. Despite suffering for years from a pretty appalling work related injury.

According to the DWP website
“The Industrial Injuries Scheme provides non-contributory no-fault benefits for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs.

Benefits are paid to employees who are liable to pay income tax under Schedule E on wages, salaries or fees.

All Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits, except Industrial Death Benefit, are tax free.
They are payable in addition to other incapacity and disability benefits but taken into account against income-related benefits".

This scheme is not widely known. The key elements are - it does not depend on national insurance contributions; its no-fault (you do not have to prove your employer is at fault or that there was “negligence”); it covers employees who are liable to pay tax (not self-employed) and it is tax-free. You can also still be in work and claim. The benefit is usually time limited and reviewed annually or when deemed appropriate.

In one way this is a model for what perhaps we should have in this country for all workers who suffer from work related accidents or diseases, without having to participate in the expensive lottery of taking out personal injury claims at Court. The problem with it, is that the levels of benefit are far too low and that the taxpayer has to fund the payment. New Zealand, I believe, has a very good no-fault, compensation scheme for work related accidents or illness, which is funded by industry wide levies.

The benefits amounts range from £27.36 to £136.80 a week depending on your level of disability. You cannot claim for the first 90 days and you are only eligible if you are assessed as suffering at least 14% “disability”.

My trade union member had a manual job and had a serious fall at work many years ago and did not realise that he could claim this benefit. Despite being off work for a year on certificated sick leave and eventually being redeployed into a non manual job. Since then he has suffered chronic pain and bouts of illness, which has severely restricted his employment, family and social activities.

The hearing today decided that he was eligible to benefit immediately after the accident and for 15 years afterwards however, since he did not claim beforehand it is impossible to link all of his current problems to that original accident. Therefore the hearing found he has currently only 10% disability and at that level he is ineligible for any current benefits. Rough justice?

I hate to think how money he has lost over the years from not claiming sooner. I will see if we can make a further appeal, but apparently it can only be on legal arguments.

In the meanwhile if any union rep comes across a member who has suffered such an injury or illness - think about industrial injuries benefit – Claim it now or possibly lose it.