New figures show that the government paid out millions of pounds in compensation to HM Prison and Probation Service employees last year because prisons were unsafe to work in.
During its most recent financial year (2016/2017), the Ministry of Justice settled 791 employers’ liability claims totaling £5.89 million, with the majority coming from HM Prison and Probation Service employees.
Employers’ liability claims occur when an employer breaches its duty of care to provide a safe working environment for employees.
Like every employer, the Ministry of Justice owes a duty of care to its employees to ensure they remain safe in the workplace. In this regard, it is clearly failing.
Accidents at work happen but they should not be happening on this scale. So many employers’ liability claims within a 12-month period suggests a shoddy approach to workplace safety.