Catalogue description Records of Industrial Injuries and Diseases

The Home Office originally had responsibility for administering the workmen's compensation schemes introduced under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1897, which conferred on workers a right to compensation for the loss of earnings resulting from injury at work. This was considerably extended by another Act in 1906. The work included the appointment and payment of medical referees, the collection of statistics, the designation of occupational diseases and occupations covered by the schemes, and the regulation of procedure and arbitration. The insurance work was carried out by the accident insurance companies.

In April 1945, the administration of workmen's compensation schemes was transferred to the Ministry of National Insurance. In July 1948, worker's compensation was replaced by the industrial injuries scheme.