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New Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: Restrictions on Workplace Victims' Compensation, Lecture notes of Criminal Law

The new criminal injuries compensation scheme introduced by the ministry of justice in 2012, which significantly restricts the ability of workers injured in the course of their duties as a result of a criminal act to apply for compensation. The key reforms, including changes to eligibility criteria, tariffs, loss of earnings provisions, and special expenses, which will impact workplace victims.

What you will learn

  • How do the eligibility criteria for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme impact workplace victims?
  • What are the significant changes to the tariffs under the new Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme?
  • How do the loss of earnings provisions under the new Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme affect workplace victims?

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The Ministry of Justice consultation Getting it right for victims and witnesses, which ended in April,
contained proposals seriously restricting the ability of workers injured in the course of their duties
as a result of a criminal act to apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Authority (CICA).
Justice secretary Ken Clarke disregarded the opposition to these reforms by trade unions, lawyers
and justice groups and laid a draft Statutory Instrument on 2 July 2012 to bring a new CICA
scheme into force on 30 September, or within two weeks of it being passed by the House of
Commons.
The new scheme was debated by the House of Lords on 25 July and went before a House of
Commons delegated legislation committee on 10 September but the regulation to implement the
new scheme was not moved after opposition from all sides. The government then claimed that it
“had listened to the views expressed in Parliament” and would consider its next steps.
By reintroducing the new scheme without amendment, ministers have not listened to the
voices of victims or their representatives.
The government is determined to push through these devastating cuts even though the
savings to be gained are minimal.
By the MoJ’s own admission, removing the lower tariff bands from the scheme, halving the
value of the middle bands and stopping train drivers who witness suicides on the track from
claiming at all could “deliver savings to the taxpayer of about £50m a year”.
We believe it is substantially lower than that.
Below we set out the key reforms which will impact on workplace victims:
THE REFORMS
1. Eligibility impact
Eligibility will depend on establishing that the victim is a victim of a crime of violence, the
definition of which is changed in order to restrict claims.
Eligibility will also be restricted by a number of new criteria including residency, reporting of
the crime, conduct and unspent convictions.
Definition of a crime of violence
The definition of a crime of violence (contained in Annex B of the new draft scheme) is:
1. A physical attack;
2. Any other act or omission of a violent nature which causes physical injury to a
person;
3. A threat against a person, causing fear of immediate violence;
The new Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: denial of
justice for victims of violent crime in the workplace
Thompsons’ briefing November 2012
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Download New Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: Restrictions on Workplace Victims' Compensation and more Lecture notes Criminal Law in PDF only on Docsity!

The Ministry of Justice consultation Getting it right for victims and witnesses , which ended in April, contained proposals seriously restricting the ability of workers injured in the course of their duties as a result of a criminal act to apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

Justice secretary Ken Clarke disregarded the opposition to these reforms by trade unions, lawyers and justice groups and laid a draft Statutory Instrument on 2 July 2012 to bring a new CICA scheme into force on 30 September, or within two weeks of it being passed by the House of Commons.

The new scheme was debated by the House of Lords on 25 July and went before a House of Commons delegated legislation committee on 10 September but the regulation to implement the new scheme was not moved after opposition from all sides. The government then claimed that it “had listened to the views expressed in Parliament” and would consider its next steps.

  • By reintroducing the new scheme without amendment, ministers have not listened to the voices of victims or their representatives.
  • The government is determined to push through these devastating cuts even though the savings to be gained are minimal.
  • By the MoJ’s own admission, removing the lower tariff bands from the scheme, halving the value of the middle bands and stopping train drivers who witness suicides on the track from claiming at all could “deliver savings to the taxpayer of about £50m a year”.
  • We believe it is substantially lower than that.

Below we set out the key reforms which will impact on workplace victims:

THE REFORMS

1. Eligibility impact - Eligibility will depend on establishing that the victim is a victim of a crime of violence, the definition of which is changed in order to restrict claims. - Eligibility will also be restricted by a number of new criteria including residency, reporting of the crime, conduct and unspent convictions.

Definition of a crime of violence

  • The definition of a crime of violence (contained in Annex B of the new draft scheme) is:
    1. A physical attack;
    2. Any other act or omission of a violent nature which causes physical injury to a person;
    3. A threat against a person, causing fear of immediate violence;

The new Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: denial of

justice for victims of violent crime in the workplace

Thompsons’ briefing November 2012

  1. A sexual assault to which a person did not consent;
  2. Arson or fire-raising.
  • An act will constitute a crime of violence where it is done either intentionally or recklessly.
  • A crime of violence will not be considered to have been committed for the purposes of the scheme if an injury:
  1. resulted from suicide or attempted suicide (unless the suicidal person acted with intent to cause injury to another person);
  2. Resulted from the use of a vehicle (unless the vehicle was used with intent to cause injury to a person);
  3. Resulted from an animal attack (unless the animal was used with intent to cause injury to a person).
  • Train drivers traumatised by railway suicides will therefore be excluded from the new scheme.
  • Secondary victims must now have witnessed and been present at the immediate aftermath.

Residency

  • The victim must be “ordinarily resident” in the UK. This is a new eligibility criterion and is made more complex by rules about whether applicants are staying with a British family or have made an application for asylum or been the victim of human trafficking.

Reporting

  • Failure to report the crime of violence “to the police “as soon as reasonably practicable” or to cooperate as far as is reasonably practicable in bringing the assailant to justice, will disqualify the applicant.
  • This is a significant change as the current scheme allows the crime to be reported to another “appropriate body”, such as the employer, and not only to the police.

Conduct

  • An award may be withheld or reduced if the conduct of the applicant before, during or after the incident giving rise to the criminal injury makes it inappropriate to make an award or a full award.

Unspent previous convictions

  • Deductions for previous convictions will continue to be made and the Tribunal will no longer have discretion in this. 2. Tariff
  • Significant changes to the tariffs mean that the vast majority of injuries involved in work- related claims will go uncompensated.
  • Injuries in bands 1-5 (£1,00 - £2,000) have been removed. These are the majority of awards received by union members.
  • Injuries in bands 6-12 (£2,500 - £11,000) are significantly reduced (approximately halved).
  • The multiple injuries formula is unchanged (100% first injury, 30% second, 15% third).
  • The maximum award cap remains £500,000.