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An injury at work is not only an unpleasant experience, but also one that can have consequences for both employer and employee. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHASA) imposes duties on both employer and employee to ensure a safe working environment.
The OHASA outlines the duties of the employer to provide a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of its employees, while it also imposes a duty on the employee to take reasonable care of their health and safety while at work.
If you are involved in an accident at work or develop an illness caused by your working conditions, then you are covered in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) (Act 130 of 1993) and you can claim from the Compensation Fund.
The purpose of the Act (COIDA) is to provide for compensation for disablement caused by occupational injuries or diseases sustained or contracted by employees in the course of their employment, or for death resulting from such injuries or diseases and to provide for matters connected thereto.
The Act applies to all employers, casual and full-time workers who, as a result of a workplace accident or work-related disease are injured, disabled, killed or become ill.
You cannot claim if you are:
- A domestic worker employed at a private home.
- A member of the South African National Defence Force.
- A member of the South African Police Services.
- An outsourced employee.
- A worker who works outside South Africa for more than 12 months at a time.
Reporting
All workplace or occupational injuries or illnesses must be reported to the Department of Labour when the accidents occur or as soon as diagnosis has been made. It is the responsibility of both the employer and employee to report.
What can you claim?
You can claim for occupational diseases (i.e. diseases caused by your working conditions), workplace injuries, as well as other diseases if you can prove, using medical evidence and reports, that the disease was caused by conditions at work.
However, you cannot claim for pain and suffering, only for loss of movement or bodily use.
Claims will only be paid if they are submitted in the correct way and on time. Claims will not be paid if:
- The claim is made more than 12 months after the accident or death, or after the disease is diagnosed.
- You are off work for three days or less.
- The accident resulted from your own wrongdoing (unless you’re seriously disabled or die in the accident in which case the fund will still pay compensation).
- You are unreasonably refused medical treatment.
- Sick leave can only be used for the period of absence for an occupational accident or illness where COIDA does not provide payment (e.g. when off work for three days or less).
The amount of compensation paid to you, depends on how much you were earning when you got injured or diagnosed. If you have stopped working by the time a disease is diagnosed, the compensation will be calculated according to what you would have been earning.
Employers pay towards the Compensation Fund once a month. You do not pay anything towards the fund. Employers cannot deduct money from your wages or salary as contributions to the fund.
Types of compensation
1. Temporary disability
Temporary disability is when you are unable to work or cannot do all your work because of an injury or disease, but you will get better eventually.
To claim, you need to be booked off work by a doctor for more than three days. If you are booked off work for longer than three days, you will get paid out for the whole time that you are unable to work (including the first three days).
2. Permanent disability
A permanent disability is an injury or illness that you will never recover from, e.g. losing an eye.
3. Death benefits
If the family member that supports the family (breadwinner) was killed by an occupational injury or disease, you can claim from the fund.
4. Medical expenses
All the medical expenses of a worker will be paid for up to two years, from the date of the accident or the diagnosis of the disease.
All medical accounts should be submitted to the Commissioner, including fees for transporting an injured employee to a hospital or to their home.
Who pays the claim?
All payments related to workplace injuries or diseases will come from the fund and not from your employer, however, the employer must pay the injured worker for the first three months after the injury was sustained. The Compensation Fund will refund the employer.
If your employer has insurance against workplace injuries, then the insurance company will pay the compensation. In these cases, claims are still made to and decided by the Compensation Commissioner.
If you have been injured at work and unsure as to what steps to take, make sure you talk to your employer or your MISA labour representative to obtain the correct advice and guidance in submitting a claim for compensation.
Article by Thandeka Phiri, National Training Manager: MISA.
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