" We face the only enforcement being through the underfunded Health and Safety Executive . HSE enforcement rates are already so low as to be virtually non-existent .
The government is yet again dancing to the tune of the insurance industry that is a huge donor to the Conservative Party .
� It has forced through the Jackson reforms ; � It has removed most legal aid ; � It is seeking to reduce the amount an injury victim can recover in costs to win a case even if the court rules those costs were necessary to win . � They want to stop injured people with cases under £ 5,000 in value getting the cost of the lawyer representing them ; and � They are seeking to put all cases under £ 25,000 in value through an automated system that isn ’ t even working for road accident cases .
This latest attack is a yet further restriction of access to justice for the most vulnerable in our society injured through no fault of their own ."
Equality Act 2010
Changes to the Equality Act 2010 were inserted into the ERR Bill after the Coalition ' s deeply unpopular move to add equality legislation to the Red Tape Challenge website . Of the 5,431 responses to the Equalities topic on the site , a huge number were opposed to making any changes to the Act and many said they wanted to see it strengthened .
A public consultation on the planned changes to the Equality Act 2010 in 2012 attracted hundreds of responses . Of these , 71 % opposed abolishing third-party harassment protection and 83 % were against repealing the obtaining information provisions .
Despite this , both changes have been passed as part of the ERR Bill :
Reversal of third-party harassment protection Changes
Third-party harassment protection for workers meant that employers had the responsibility to protect their staff from repeated harassment or discrimination by contractors , members of the public , and others that are not directly employed by the business . Employers ' liability for this behaviour kicked in after the worker had been harassed or discriminated against three times without the employer stepping in to intervene . This liability has now been reversed .
Criticism
Third-party harassment was not , as the government claims , a ' burden ' on business . Indeed , Thompsons Solicitors noted that the vast majority of cases pertaining to this legislation were settled out of court and even the Coalition is aware of one case in
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