UK Road Accident Record Placed in the Spotlight

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has called for the government to commit to publishing a new road safety strategy for England, in the light of recent statistics that point to ‘a dramatic lack of UK road safety progress over the last decade’.

The RoSPA has…

Feb 05, 2024

The RoSPA has highlighted figures from the World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety for 2023, along with its own analysis of recent road safety statistics, which indicate that numbers of road fatalities and injuries have plateaued in the UK since 2010. While road safety in the UK has stalled, there has been a 36 per cent reduction in road deaths across the European region as a whole, according to the RoSPA.

David Walker, Head of Road and Leisure Safety at the RoSPA, said, “We are seeing around 81 people killed or seriously injured on our roads every day, which is unacceptable and evidently linked to the dramatic lack of UK road safety progress over the last decade.

“We cannot and must not wait to act and urge the government to publish its long-overdue Road Safety Strategic Framework for England, and to set out casualty reduction targets that are in line with other G7 nations. Only then can we begin to address our woeful position on the road safety leaderboard.”

Small Employer Pays Heavily for Ignorance of the Acas Code

Ignorance of the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures is a positive invitation to Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings. A small employer found that out to its cost after a cleaner was sacked by text message. When the woman launched proceedings, the owner of the six-employee business for which she worked contended that she had been dismissed for gross misconduct. He confirmed, however, that he had not followed the Acas Code and that, having never dismissed an employee…

Bus Driver Sacked Whilst on Sick Leave Succeeds in Unfair Dismissal Claim

Dismissing a sick employee on medical grounds may be lawful and justified, but it is always something that is likely to attract close scrutiny by an Employment Tribunal (ET). In a case on point, a bus driver who was sacked whilst on sick leave, having suffered a stroke, succeeded in an unfair dismissal claim. The driver was hospitalised for 13 days following his stroke and was on sick leave for over six months prior to his dismissal. The DVLA had revoked his Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV)…

Stable Lass Compromised Employment Dispute ‘Under Duress’

Under the auspices of Acas, employment disputes can be formally compromised by way of so-called ‘COT3’ agreements, thus obviating the need for litigation. However, as a guideline ruling showed, such agreements are unlikely to be worth the paper they are written on if they are entered into under duress. The case concerned a stable lass who lived in tied accommodation. When faced with disciplinary proceedings, she entered into a COT3 agreement with her employer. She subsequently lodged Employment…