Compensation for pneumoconiosis etc.
Section 52: Relevant employer
The conditions of entitlement to a payment in the case of a person suffering from a disease to which the Pneumoconiosis Order applies are set out in Article 3(3) of that Order. One of the conditions of entitlement is that every person by whom the person suffering from the disease was employed at any time during the period which he was developing the disease and against whom he might have or might have had a claim for damages in respect of the disablement (“relevant employers”) have ceased to carry on business. If there are no relevant employers, a payment is made.
Section 52 inserts a definition of “relevant employer” as set out in Schedule 6 which would allow a claim to be made where the employment was a long time in the past or only lasted for a short period of time.
Section 53: Dependant
A “dependant” of a person who, immediately before his death, suffered from a relevant disease can bring a claim under the Pneumoconiosis Order. Article 5 of that Order sets out the meaning of a “dependant” and sets out an order of priority for determining which dependant may bring a claim in each case.
Section 53 amends that Article so that a person who was living with a sufferer as if husband and wife and a person who was living with a sufferer as if they were civil partners are included within the meaning of “dependant”.
