Royal College of Nursing to lodge application with European Court of Human Rights
13 April 2007
Frances Swaine, partner in the human rights department at Leigh Day & Co, has been instructed by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to lodge an application at the European Court of Human Rights.
A recent High Court ruling (Wright and Others v Secretary of State for Health) has found that the legislation governing how care workers come to be listed on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) register is incompatible with Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human rights (ECHR).
At present, an individual may be included on a provisional list, pending a final decision from the Secretary of State for Health regarding their suitability for working with vulnerable adults.
Although the inclusion of a worker in this list is provisional, the effect is immediate. A care worker on this list is effectively suspended without pay and denied access to working in the caring profession. Furthermore, they are denied the opportunity of challenging these (at this stage unproven) allegations for a minimum of nine months.
Unsurprisingly, this has led to significant hardship for some members of the RCN who have been wrongly included on the provisional POVA register. Leigh Day & Co is seeking to obtain financial compensation for those who have been adversely affected by the current legislation.
If successful, a ruling from the ECHR will challenge the existing legislation as being incompatible with the right to access to a fair hearing (Article 6) and the right to earn a living and provide for your family (Article 8).
If you are a nurse or care worker and have been affected by this issue please contact Frances Swaine on 020 7650 1200
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