Victims to Choose Offender Punishment? [11th Oct 2012]
The victims of anti-social behaviour may now be able to choose the types of punishment given to offenders. These options could range from compensation to community service. The announcement was made by the Home Secretary Theresa May this week. She was speaking at the Conservative Party conference and stated that victims need a greater voice in the justice system. The scheme would be led by Police and Crime Commissioners and would mean that if a person receives a punishment which does not involve imprisonment, the victim will be able to choose what the form of the punishment is. The punishment can be restorative or punitive and could be carried out in the local area or not. She hopes that this means that victims will be given back their voice, however they must choose from a list of punishment options. Related Stories: Crime victims will pick punishments says Theresa May - www.independent.co.uk Anti social behaviour victims can soon choose punishment - www.newstrackindia.com In a speech made at the Conservative party conference this week, the Chancellor George Osborne has announced a policy which could make it much harder for employees to get compensation from their employers for unfair dismissal or redundancy. The policy would mean that any employee who chooses to take tax-free shares from their company will have to give up their rights to make compensation claims in the event of losing their job. Other job perks would also be given up such as the right to ask for flexible working hours and women returning from maternity leave would need to give more notice of their return date. The shares could be worth between £2,000 and £50,000 and would not be subject to capital gains tax. The policy has been met with much criticism, not least the fact that many of these workers rights are fundamental and are protected in law for a good reason. Additionally, share prices have been falling and so this deal may not be good for the employee who will have worthless shares and no redundancy should the company fail. There is also concern that employers will make it a compulsory contract and will not employ those who do not want to sign. Related Stories: Georges new useless share scheme - www.taxresearch.org.uk George Osborne unveils employee shares for rights scheme - www.guardian.co.uk An alteration to the timing of changes to personal injury claims will save the insurance industry £300m according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The Court of Appeal has ruled that increases in awards made for personal injury claims will apply only to new claims made after 1 April 2013 and not to claims which are older but not settled until after that date. James Dalton from the ABI has commented that the ruling means that the extra costs will not need to be passed to the premium paying public. The changes to personal injury payouts is part of a general reform of the compensation structure in the UK. Claimants would get a 10% increase in compensation awards however they would be expected to pay their own legal success fees, rather than the insurer of the other party. If changes to the timing of this new rule had not been made, some claimants may have received the extra 10% but still not have needed to pay the success fee because they signed up with their lawyer before the rules came in. Related Stories: Insurers welcome compensation ruling - www.ft.com UK insurers say court decision saves $480 million - uk.reuters.com The government has started a new consultation on a proposal to offer £250m in compensation to the heaviest energy users in the UK to encourage them to reduce the energy they use and the associated costs. It is thought that climate and energy policies could add as much as 28% to average energy prices paid by intensive users and so the government want to offer a support package which will allow them to survive. The final details of the compensation package will be announced next Spring and must be approved by the EU under laws regarding giving state funding to private companies. The energy secretary Ed Davey has commented that the compensation package should give companies an incentive to make changes and adopt lower carbon emissions policies where possible. He points out that it is important to ensure that high emissions businesses do not decide to relocate to other countries due to the higher carbon taxes here. Related Stories: UK bungs £250m to factories stung by climate change policy - www.theregister.co.uk Energy intensive industries compensation scheme - www.bis.gov.uk  |
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