Sourcing for an insurance quotation can be tedious and time consuming; the claim process can become pro-longed and complicated. We provide one stop services for you to handle these and offer the most competitive quotation for Work Injury Compensation Insurance.
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Who Are Required To Purchase Work Injury Compensation Insurance (Workmen Compensation Insurance)?
Employers are required to continue to purchase insurance for employees who are already covered under the Act prior to 1 April 2008 (i.e. manual workers regardless of their level of earnings and non-manual workers with monthly earnings of $1,600 or less), unless they have been specifically exempted. Failure to do so constitutes an offence.
For employees who are newly covered under the Act (i.e. non-manual employees earning above $1,600 a month), the employers can decide whether or not to buy insurance for these newly-covered employees. Nonetheless, employers will be required to pay compensation (including medical leave wages and medical expenses) in the event of a valid claim, even if they do not buy insurance.
The Work Injury Compensation Act: Who it covers
The Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) allows employees who have sustained injuries in a work-related accident or contracted an occupational disease to claim work injury compensation. Dependants of employees who died in a work-related accident are also eligible for compensation.Claimable compensation includes medical leave wages, medical expenses and permanent incapacity or death.
Unlike civil claims, compensation is generally payable under the Act regardless of whether the employer is at fault, as long as the employee had suffered an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment or had contracted an occupational disease as defined under the Act. The compensation benefits are computed based on fixed formulae and capped under the Act.
Once an employee decides to pursue his claim under the Act, he will generally no longer be able to lodge a civil claim against his employer for damages.
Guide to the Work Injury Compensation Benefits and Claim Process
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Who Can Claim Work Injury Compensation?
Employees who have sustained injuries in a work-related accident or contracted an occupational disease are entitled to claim work injury compensation. Dependants of employees who died in a work-related accident are also eligible for compensation.
The Act covers all employees except the following:
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Self-employed persons;
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Independent contractors;
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Domestic workers;
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Members of the Singapore Armed Forces;
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Officers of the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Prison Service.
When Is Work Injury Compensation Payable?
Compensation is payable when an employee suffers personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment or has contracted an occupational disease as defined under the Act. An accident arising in the course of an employee's employment (i.e. during working hours or while on official duties) is regarded as having arisen out of that employment, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.
Compensation is also payable under the following circumstances:
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An employee meets with an accident while traveling as a passenger to and from his place of work in a vehicle operated by or on behalf of his employer and the vehicle is not public transport.
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An employee who is residing in Singapore and employed by an employer in Singapore, meets with an accident in a place outside Singapore where he is required to work.
What Are The Compensation Benefits?
Under the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), an injured employee is entitled to claim medical leave wages, medical expenses and compensation for permanent incapacity or death, if applicable.
Employers are liable to pay work injury compensation as follows:
- Medical Leave Wages
- Medical Expenses
- Compensation for Permanent Incapacity
- Compensation for Death
Medical Leave Wages
Employers are required to pay medical leave wages to their employees. This includes:
Employers are liable to pay work injury compensation as follows:
- full pay up to 14 days for outpatient medical leave;
- full pay up to 60 days for hospitalisation leave; and thereafter
- two-thirds of salary is payable up to a maximum period of one year following the date of accident.
Public holidays, rest days and non-working days should be excluded from the number of days of medical leave granted to the employee. For public holidays, while these are not granted as paid medical leave under WICA, the injured employee may be paid for the public holidays as his entitlement under the Employment Act.
Employers are required to pay medical leave wages to the employees not later than the same day as earnings would have been payable.
Medical Expenses
Employers are responsible for all the medical expenses incurred by employees for treatment by any Singapore-registered medical practitioner or in any approved hospital.
Medical expenses include:
- the cost of medical consultation fees, treatment and expenses,
- medical report fees (for the initial assessment of the extent of injury suffered by the employee),
- the costs of medicines,
- artificial limbs and surgical appliances as certified by the medical practitioner.
Employees may claim for all medical expenses incurred within one year from the date of the accident, up to a cap of $25,000. He has to bear the cost of medical expenses beyond such in excess of these limits.
Alternatively, employees may seek damages from his employer at the civil courts, in order to recover the full medical expenses incurred. If he decides to file a civil claim, however, the injured employee should not file a work injury compensation claim with the Ministry of Manpower.
Permanent Incapacity Compensation
Compensation payable = [employee's monthly earnings] x [age multiplying factor] x [% loss of earning capacity]
- The compensation amount payable is subjected to a maximum and minimum limit as follows:
- Maximum limit = $180,000 x [% loss of earning capacity]
- Minimum limit = $60,000 x [% loss of earning capacity]
- An additional 25% of the compensation amount is awarded if an injured employee suffered permanent total incapacity (i.e. 100% loss of earning capacity).
Compensation for Death
Compensation payable = [employee's monthly earnings] x [age multiplying factor]
The compensation amount payable to the dependents of a deceased employee is subjected to a maximum and minimum limit as follows:
- Maximum limit = $140,000
- Minimum limit = $ 47,000
Sourcing for an insurance quotation can be tedious and time consuming; the claim process can become pro-longed and complicated. We provide one stop services for you to handle these and offer the most competitive quotation.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 30 June 2011 11:24
