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This article was published on May 26th, 2016
The blacklisting scandal was revealed in 2009 following a raid on a company called The Consulting Association by the information commissioner’s office. They discovered a list of over 3,000 workers – which included private information about personal circumstances.
The blacklisting scandal revealed that there was a list of construction workers who the construction industry referred to before deciding whether to use someone or not. The blacklist contained information of workers deemed to be troublesome detailing their competence, political views and also their trade union activities.
When the existence of the blacklist was discovered, the construction workers named on the list were obviously furious and sought legal action.
256 Workers who belonged to Unite have been awarded £10 million in compensation which will be shared out according to loss of income.
The list had been used by dozens of construction firms to vet those applying for work on building sites.
Other Unions including the GMB and Ucatt also reached compensation settlements of £5.4 million with construction companies, who used the blacklisting when recruiting for jobs. Their members will receive between 25 and 200k depending on circumstances.
The compensation claims were brought against the companies Carillion, Balfour Beatty, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci.
As an employee, employment law can be hugely daunting during what is often already a very stressful time. Whatever the position you find yourself in, whether it relates to sex or disability discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy issues, workplace disputes or any other employment related issues, our specialist employment law team can help. You can be assured that each case is treated with both a commercial and a sensitive approach, as well as complying with current legislation.
To find out more or to discuss your circumstances further please contact Mark Bestley on 01625 507571 or 07825 081 856 or email on [email protected] or contact us on our online enquiry form.
