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The TUC has warned members of the House of Lords that plans they are voting on today (Wednesday) to scrap health and safety rules for millions of self-employed people will put both workers and the public at risk.

The Deregulation Bill will amend section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which currently places a duty on all employers and self-employed people to take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of others.

Any self-employed person who is not on a prescribed list will no longer have duties under the Act and will not be a liable for a criminal act, or be issued with enforcement proceedings regardless of any risk that they pose to themselves or others.

The TUC says that the clause will remove 4.2 million self-employed people from the requirement of the Act and warns that the bill will be a recipe for confusion.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This is virtually a licence to kill. It will be a green light to cowboys and incompetents to cut corners and take risks – not only with their own lives but also with those of others.

“It undermines the simple message in the Health and Safety at Work Act that everyone should be covered.

“Rather than ‘reducing burdens' or simplifying things for the self-employed, this bill creates confusion. The only people who will benefit will be the consultants and the lawyers that the self-employed will end up needing to explain their legal position.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The TUC briefing on the Deregulation Bill, which has its Third Reading in the House of Lords today, can be found athttps://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/DEREG%20BILL%20HL%20Self-employed%20exemption%204%20March%202015.pdf

 - All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews